Ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone tips Max Verstappen to claim F1 title in Abu Dhabi

Bernie Ecclestone says Lando Norris’ overconfidence will come back to haunt him in Abu Dhabi and allow Max Verstappen to snatch the title from McLaren’s grasp.

Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is tipping Max Verstappen to overtake Lando Norris and retain his world championship even though the Dutchman’s own family have already given up on him so won’t be attending the season-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

More than ever, Ecclestone is convinced Verstappen will complete one of the greatest comebacks in F1 history and claim the title for the fifth season in a row, partly because he reckons McLaren messed up.

“I still believe Max will do it,” Ecclestone told Daily Mail Sport.

“He deserves it. I used to say Alain Prost was the best driver of all time, doing it on his own without a radio to the pit wall telling him what to do, but I think Max is the best I have known. He stands alone.”

Ecclestone said McLaren had allowed Verstappen back into the title race by ‘favouring’ their English driver Lando Norris over Australia’s Oscar Piastri.

McLaren have denied giving Norris preferential treatment but Ecclestone doesn’t believe them and thinks the team made a mistake in opting for the Englishman over the determined Australian.

“Lando is fine, a really good driver, but he is overconfident, too cocky, believing his own publicity, but he gets nervous at crunch moments and can’t quite deliver the way Max can when the pressure is on,” Ecclestone said.

Bernie Ecclestone is tipping Max Verstappen to pip Lando Norris to the F1 title.

“McLaren have been very helpful to Lando over Oscar, supporting him over the other guy, such as changing them around in Monza after Lando had a bad pit stop, and that way of working may yet be good for them, I don’t know.

“It’s not what I would have done. A bad pit stop is part of racing. You have to accept it, not engineer it.”

If Verstappen does win the title, he’ll have to celebrate without his parents, who had already made other plans for this weekend after their son dropped so far behind the two McLarens midway through the season.

“My parents are not here. My dad is rallying in Africa,” Verstappen said.

“And my mum, I guess it was not planned. I didn’t really plan to be in the title fight till the end so here we are.

Max Verstappen and his father Jos.

“After Zandvoort (the venue for the Dutch Grand Prix), everything was cancelled.

“My mum is at home happy with the dogs. You can see a lot on TV anyway.”

Asked whether he was worried he might miss out on some last minute parental advice, Verstappen laughed then said: “We are not like that.

“They know that when I sit in the car, I will give everything I have. I just speak to them about other stuff. They don’t need to motivate me. That doesn’t really work like that. Of course, they always support me. My mum always lights a candle before every race weekend. I guess they trust their son.”

Piastri said his family had travelled over from Australia to the Middle East to watch the race live.

“My family is here. It’s the last race. I’ve done a lot of racing without any of my family and friends in my career, so it is always nice to have them there,” he said.

“It doesn’t change the world, let’s say. It is nice, obviously, but I know some people actually prefer it when their parents aren’t there or they don’t have people around. But for me, it is a nice thing.”

Norris, who leads Verstappen by 12 points and Piastri by 16, said he had also invited over some of his closest friends to join his family as he bids for his first world title.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at a pre-race press conference.

‘I always lean on my friends for advice and help in different moments. Win or lose, end of the season, it’s always nice to share it with them,” he said.

“But I do that every year, so it’s nothing special from that point of view. And my parents come to many races, and they’re here again because it’s the final one – not because of it being a good one or a bad one or whatever it may be.

“They come to the final race of the season every time. I want them to be there because, win or lose, it’s a moment where I just want to share every bit that I can with my friends, with my family, because it’s also fun for them.”

Originally published as Ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone tips Max Verstappen to claim F1 title in Abu Dhabi