Oscar Piastri was seen joking with Max Verstappen over his decision not to “back everyone up” in the F1 season finale at the Abu Dhabi GP.
Lando Norris prevailed as world champion by podiuming at the Yas Marina Circuit, doing what was required to secure a first title by finishing third behind Verstappen and Piastri to finish two points clear of the Dutchman.
Given that Norris needed to podium to guarantee he won the title, his McLaren teammate Piastri decided to question Verstappen about his strategy, which saw the four-time world champion storm away with the lead and create separation in the pack.
Had the 28-year-old, who started in Abu Dhabi on pole, bunched up the drivers to the last lap with some clever defensive driving, Norris may have been pipped to a top-three finish - and if Verstappen still crossed the line first in that scenario, he would have been crowned champion.
“So you don’t want to back everyone up?” asked Piastri cheekily as the pair waited to take to the podium after the race’s finish. Verstappen did not respond.
Piastri also laughed about the fact that this was the last race the drivers had to drive this generation of cars, saying: “At least we don’t have to drive them next year.”
Verstappen replied: “We’ll see what we get next year.”
Norris, starting in second on the grid, dropped to third place on lap one with McLaren teammate Piastri swooping brilliantly around the outside at turn nine.
Yet Norris dealt with the pressure superbly, first defending well from Charles Leclerc’s attack early on before brilliantly passing a number of midfield cars to progress rapidly back up the order.
One such move, on Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda, saw the British driver move just off the road as the Japanese driver swerved illegally on the straight. Both drivers were investigated, with Tsunoda handed a five-second penalty.
From that moment on, Norris was in control. Piastri took the lead of the grand prix before pitting with 16 laps to go. Norris pitted for a second time a lap earlier, taking on fresh rubber and staying in third place. While Leclerc closed in, it wasn’t quick enough to mount a title-swinging challenge.
It was heart-in-mouth stuff by the end, with one error critical and Norris’s Belgian mother Cisca barely able to watch at the back of the McLaren garage, but Norris brought his car home safe in the knowledge that third place was enough to become Britain’s 11th F1 world champion.
In the end, he finished 6.7 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Leclerc in fourth, meaning Verstappen’s valiant fightback from a 104-point deficit in the summer fell just short.
