Max Verstappen sealed his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship in comfortable fashion just a few races ago ahead of Lando Norris.
His early season advantage paid dividends in the end, as he rallied to win top honours with two race weekends to spare.
The Red Bull car may be the third or fourth fastest on the grid now, but that hasn’t stopped him from winning two of the last three races including the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen will probably have a new teammate in 2025, with Sergio Perez set to make way, so there may be even more competition coming for him soon.
Max Verstappen’s Red Bull front axle ‘just not working’ at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
With nothing to fight for at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen has a rare free licence to go out and have some fun.
It’s the final time that he will be driving his fourth title-winning machine, so he will be looking to go out and sign off from it with a bang.
Friday’s practice indicates that a victory may be a tough ask, but countless times this season have they struggled early on before racing out of the blocks on a Saturday.
READ MORE: Guenther Steiner shares George Russell’s unusual action that has ‘upset’ Max Verstappen
Team boss Christian Horner admitted to Sky Sports F1 that there is work for the team to do, with the front end of his car not working very well to his liking.
“The front axle of the car is just not working for him. It just feels solid, so a bit of work to do there,” he said.
“It’s not as bad as it looks but there’s quite a lot of performance to be found in getting the front of the car to respond.”
Why Verstappen needs to watch out for Russell in Abu Dhabi
This week’s headlines have been dominated by the McLaren and Ferrari’s constructors’ championship battle, and an intense feud between Verstappen and rival George Russell.
The two clashed at the Qatar Grand Prix over a qualifying incident which saw the Dutchman hit with an incredibly rare one-place grid penalty.
After spending the week reading insults, it’s entirely possible that the Mercedes driver, who also has nothing to gain on Sunday, attacks with aggression during the Abu Dhabi GP.
READ MORE: Zak Brown ‘not quite sure’ on FIA decision over Max Verstappen and George Russell incident
Verstappen supposedly threatened to put Russell in a wall, but that would see him carry a heavy punishment in the future.
There’s likely to be an elbows-out approach from both of them though, so fireworks could be on order amid a championship fight around them.
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