F1: Oscar Piastri qualifies third for title-deciding Abu Dhabi GP

Oscar Piastri admits he needs “funny things” to happen after qualifying for the season finale Abu Dhabi GP produced an insane result.

Oscar Piastri still has a shot at winning this year’s Formula One world championship after booking himself one of the best seats in the house for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Australian is one of just three drivers with any chance of walking away from the Yas Marina circuit with the trophy in his hand but he will need an overdue slice of luck - which is code for meaning he needs his two rivals Lando Norris and Max Verstappen to crash into each other.

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The chances of that happening have already shortened after the pair qualified right next to each for Sunday night’s Middle East showdown, with Verstappen launching himself from pole position in his Red Bull and Norris alongside him on the front row in the first of the two McLarens vying for the silverware.

Oscar Piastri will start from third in the season finale. Picture: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Piastri qualified third fastest, which puts him in the perfect position to pounce if the two cars in front of him do get tangled up in the rush to the first corner.

“Funny things can happen, that’s what I’ve learned,” Piastri said.

“From where I’m sat, I need things to happen in the race to win the championship. So, I’ll wait and see if those things happen.”

Piastri can take some extra hope from the mindsets of the two men in front of him, both in the race and the championship.

His McLaren teammate is trying to win his first world title so is naturally nervous.

Norris does have a healthy 12-point lead over Verstappen and 16 on Piastri going into the season finale, meaning he will be crowned champion if he finishes anywhere in the top three.

But the Englishman also knows that playing it safe is no guarantee things will work out so he still needs to be aggressive.

“I feel comfortable and ready to go. I feel like we’ve got a good plan for things,” Norris said.

“But as Max said, you can’t plan for everything. So I feel excited to get the final race done and then go on holiday.

“I’m not too bothered to be the hunter or the hunted. To be hunted is fine because you’re normally the one with the advantage in the first place, so that’s good. And of course, I would sign for that now but life’s not that simple, sadly.”

Max Verstappen will start on pole. Picture: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

While respectful of the challenge from his Aussie team mate, the one person that will give Norris a sleepless night is of course Verstappen. The Dutchman has already won four world titles and didn’t think he had a chance to win a fifth this year so he’s feeling no pressure and vowing just to go for broke.

“All out. I have nothing to lose,” Verstappen said. “So for me, of course, I’m going to try to win the race.

“I’m going to defend. If I need to attack, I’ll attack, because what can happen? You’re either second or third – or you win. That would be fantastic.”

The first corner looms large for everyone. Verstappen won’t give it up without a fight. So if Norris backs off and Verstappen hold the leads, it would set the race up for a wild finish.

To win the title, Verstappen not only needs to win the race but he also requires Norris to finish outside the top three so he’ll be expected to slow down in the closing laps to stack up the field behind hope that the McLarens make a mistake.

Asked what he was planning, Verstappen was far too cunning to give anything away, but said: “We’ll find out tomorrow, won’t we?

“Of course, I’ll try to win the race, but also in the back of my mind, we want to try and score a lot of points to still try and win that championship. So, we need a bit of luck from what is happening behind us.”

McLaren, of course, are expecting Verstappen to try something so have already come up with a counter strategy of their own, which will infuriate Australian F1 followers.

If Piastri is in front of Norris but no longer in contention to win the title because he’s behind Verstappen, he could be told to slow down and let Norris past so that Englishman can claim the championship.

No-one wants to see that happen and McLaren are reluctant to talk about it after long being accused of favouring Norris over Piastri.

Asked by this masthead whether he was comfortable with that arrangement and what he might expect from Norris in return if it does transpire, Piastri said he hadn’t given any thought to it because his sole focus was on winning himself.

“Handshake would be good, probably. I don’t know what exactly is expected of me yet,” Piastri said.

“But until either Lando or Max cross the line in front of me, I’ve still got a chance of winning the title. So we’ll see how the race pans out.”