Lando Norris admits he has ‘most to lose’ in Abu Dhabi as lifelong dream beckons

By Philip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent, Abu Dhabi

Lando Norris admitted he has the “most to lose” as he prepares to fulfil a lifelong dream in Formula One’s three-way world championship shootout in Abu Dhabi.

Norris heads into this weekend’s season finale in the driving seat to land his first world crown.

He holds a 12-point lead over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri four points further back.

It means Norris has to finish only third in Sunday’s 58-lap race in the desert to become Britain’s 11th world champion.

However, Verstappen claimed in Thursday’s press conference in Abu Dhabi, which featured the three championship contenders, that he has nothing to lose.

And Norris said: “I guess in terms of position, of course, I have the most to lose because I’m the one at the top. I’ll do my best to stay there for another few days.

“But if it doesn’t go my way, I will try again next year. It will hurt for a little while but that’s life and I’ll crack on and try and do better again next season.

“I also have the mentality that I have nothing to lose because it’s just a race for a championship and in 30 years time I won’t think of it all that much.”

Verstappen had been 104 points off the championship pace but he has closed in on Norris with five wins from his last eight appearances.

Norris’ second place in last month’s Las Vegas Grand Prix was chalked off after McLaren ran an illegal car, and a bungled strategy call by the British team in Qatar a week ago gift-wrapped victory for Verstappen.

However, the title race remains in Norris’ hands, and when asked how he would react to becoming champion of the world, the 26-year-old, in his seventh season in F1, added: “This has been my whole life and everything I have worked towards for my whole life.

“It would mean the world to me and everyone who has supported me and pushed me for the last 16 years in terms of trying to get to this point.

“It would mean that my life until now has been a success, and I have accomplished that dream I had as a kid. It’s also a reward for a lot of hard work.”

Verstappen is out to become only the third driver, behind Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, who have both won seven titles, to take a fifth world crown.

Unlike Norris and Piastri, he also has the experience of a title decider after he controversially saw off Hamilton to take his maiden championship here at the Yas Marina Circuit in 2021.

Verstappen said: “The trophy looks the same. I have four of those at home, so it’s nice to add a fifth. I know my signature.

“Of course you always try to win it. But at the same time, I’ve already achieved all that I wanted to achieve in F1, and everything else is just a bonus.

“I just keep doing it because I love it and I enjoy it. I’m very relaxed, I have nothing to lose, and I’m just enjoying being here.”