Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso stand next to Lewis Hamilton — Photo: © IMAGO

How Max Verstappen can channel his inner Lewis Hamilton to WIN the F1 title in Abu Dhabi

Might Max Verstappen channel his inner Lewis Hamilton?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 4 December 2025 00:56

Max Verstappen may well be looking to take inspiration from his old rival Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

The 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will see a three-way fight for the title between Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the first time that has happened since the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP.

But Verstappen is certainly an underdog as he attempts to claim a record-equalling fifth consecutive title, and that's because not even a race win will do for him on Sunday.

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If Verstappen does all he can to win the race ahead of both McLaren drivers, he will need Norris to finish off the podium down in fourth, something that did happen last time out at the Qatar GP.

However, barring any more McLaren howlers, you would expect Norris to have the pace to finish on the podium in Abu Dhabi, so Verstappen may well be looking at ways in which he can help his rivals behind him to defeat Norris.

What did Hamilton do at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP?

Verstappen was just 19 and in his first season with Red Bull back in 2016, but he almost played a crucial role in determining which one of the Mercedes drivers would win the title.

On lap 20, Nico Rosberg was told that overtaking the Dutchman was 'critical' for his championship fight against Hamilton.

The German had gone into the race 12 points clear of Hamilton - the same amount as Norris leads Verstappen in 2025 - and needed a podium finish to guarantee championship success over the Brit.

Hamilton cruised to the race victory, but in the final few laps, he opted to slow the pack right down to give Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen an opportunity to put pressure on second-place Rosberg.

This involved speeding up at certain points of the lap to ensure Rosberg did not have any opportunity to overtake him, before slowing down in others to allow Vettel and Verstappen to catch up.

Mercedes pleaded with Hamilton on team radio to speed up, worried about the team result, but Hamilton's argument was that they had already won the constructors' championship, so there was no need to prioritise the team.

Rosberg did manage to hold off Vettel and Verstappen, and became the 2016 world champion, with Hamilton taking to his post-race interview to say of his tactics: "What am I supposed to do? Let the dude win?"

Will Verstappen adopt the same tactics?

The parallels between 2016 and 2025 are scary. A driver chasing their maiden title 12 points clear of a multiple world champion heading into the final race.

Yet where it differs somewhat is that McLaren have had a much faster car than Red Bull for most of this season, and it's only Verstappen's brilliance - and a double McLaren disqualification in Vegas - that has dragged the Dutchman back into the race for the title.

In that sense, you have to make Norris the huge favourite, and Oscar Piastri - who is 16 points behind Norris - may actually have more of a chance of claiming the title than Verstappen.

But, if Verstappen does get himself into a position where he can win the race, you can imagine he will try everything to ensure that Norris does not just cruise to a second or third-place finish. That may well include a repeat of Hamilton's tactics.

And, with no team orders given that the other driver is not his Red Bull team-mate, Verstappen would likely take it to an even more extreme level, slowing the pack right down while still ensuring he stays ahead of Norris and Piastri.

Crucially, this would involve Verstappen speeding up in the first sector of the lap to ensure that the drivers behind do not have DRS on him heading down the mightily long straight in Abu Dhabi, but slowing down throughout the rest of the lap to make sure that the fourth-placed driver does have DRS on Norris.

The Red Bull team might even consider using Yuki Tsunoda as a buffer too. With Verstappen's team-mate not in a championship battle of any kind, Red Bull could pit their driver at the most annoying times to disrupt Norris and Piastri's progress.

Imagine this: Tsunoda being given a blue flag to let Norris and Piastri past after a round of pit stops, but racing them hard, picking up penalties but thus helping Verstappen pull away from the papaya cars and maybe get some drivers in between the championship rivals.

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Abu Dhabi Grand Prix