Lando Norris admits he prefers to be second in F1 title battle

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris has suggested he would rather pretend he is second in the championship heading into this weekend's season finale.

Norris goes into this weekend's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 12 points clear at the top of the drivers' standings, as he looks to get his hands on his maiden title.

However, he has both four-time world champion Max Verstappen and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri behind him, with both of those two drivers also able to still claim championship success.

It's the first time since the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP that more than two drivers can still win the title heading into the final race weekend of the season.

Now, Norris has opened up about how he is approaching it, with the British driver revealing that he has tried to maintain the mindset of the driver in second, to help him imagine he is hunting down the leader, instead of leading the pack.

That's the role that he played for much of this season, with Piastri leading the standings for the majority of 2025, before Norris took the lead in Mexico.

"(I’m) trying to treat it like I’m not fighting for a championship," Norris told The Athletic ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP weekend.

"That I’m like, this weekend is just another race, almost trying to pretend that I’m still second in the championship and trying to catch up to first. Because I think I understand how easily it can affect you."

Who will win Abu Dhabi title showdown?

While all the momentum has been with Norris in recent race weekends, Piastri's performance all-weekend long at the Qatar GP last time out will give him confidence that he can still fight for this title.

Verstappen, as well, has won the last two grands prix, and is the only one of the three who has been in this position before, when he faced the ultimate pressure of a final day title win at the Yas Marina Circuit back in 2021.

Since then, the Dutchman has added three more championships to his collection in fairly comfortable fashion, but this year has been different.

There's no doubt that Norris is the favourite, only needing to claim a podium in Abu Dhabi even if Verstappen wins the race, but the fact that the Dutchman can now smell a record-equalling fifth consecutive title should be a concern for Norris and McLaren.

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