“We Did Everything We Could!” Lando Norris Insists He Is Happy Despite Losing F1 Championship Race Pole to Max Verstappen

Lando Norris believes that all is not lost for him after failing to achieve a pole position start for the championship decider race in Abu Dhabi.

“We Did Everything We Could!” Lando Norris Insists He Is Happy Despite Losing F1 Championship Race Pole to Max Verstappen

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

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Lando Norris will be the driver to watch closely as his championship chances look extremely strong, especially after a front-row start for the Abu Dhabi GP. Norris is currently 14 points in the lead and just needs a podium finish to seal his title win.

However, the Briton couldn’t quite overcome Max Verstappen to clinch the pole position in the ultimate race of the 2025 season. Regardless, the 26-year-old isn’t too concerned with this and is glad to have maximized as much as possible.

The 2025 season has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride, especially in the driver’s title battle. In what seemed to be a title to win for Oscar Piastri, he is now P3 and might not even finish in P2.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen achieved a meteoric comeback from a deficit of 104 points, which is now down to just 14 points. As such, Lando Norris will surely hope to maximize results on race day and not fall behind the reigning world champion.

The 2024 Abu Dhabi was great for Lando Norris as he achieved a race win after starting the race from pole position. However, the stakes weren’t as high last time around.

It is imperative that Norris does not choke under pressure and keep a level head on track to ultimately achieve a podium finish at the very least. Now, the Briton reckoned that it was certainly tough to beat Max Verstappen for the pole position on Saturday.

Lando Norris applauded Max Verstappen and his great job to clinch the final pole position of the 2025 season. Despite not starting in P1, Norris is happy with a front-row start and is glad that McLaren did all they could in Qualifying.

Though Norris stated that he was disappointed not to be on pole, a P2 start was just as good enough for him in his championship ambitions.

It is tough. Max did a good job, so congrats to him. We did everything we could, so I’m pretty happy. Disappointed not to be on pole for the final weekend, but we’ll just have to do it tomorrow.

Lando Norris said in a post-qualifying interview.

Lando Norris reveals his ‘goal’ for the season finale at Abu Dhabi

The 2025 Abu Dhabi GP will mark the end of the ground-effect era that has proved to be a massive challenge for some of the veteran drivers on track. Though it has been quite the journey for Max Verstappen, as he has won the title for the past four years. Now, with the final title victory seemingly in Lando Norris’ favor, he opens up on his goal for the ultimate race in Abu Dhabi after starting from the front row.

Lando Norris (via AP)
Lando Norris (via AP)

Lando Norris just has to bring home a podium finish and seal his maiden title victory in the pinnacle of motorsport after racing for over six years. The Briton must not get too greedy on race day and sabotage his podium finish for the sake of a race win. However, Norris still noted that his goal was to try and win on Sunday and achieve a perfect end to his championship fight in the final year of the ground-effect era.

I still want to try and win tomorrow, that is the goal.

Lando Norris noted.

McLaren will ask Oscar Piastri to play the team game, especially since he starts right behind Lando Norris. It wouldn’t be too surprising if Piastri simply gives up his position to Norris just for the sake of the latter’s championship win. As such, Max Verstappen’s life is made even harder, and it will certainly be interesting to see how everything plays out tomorrow.

Read More: Ex-F1 Driver Blasts McLaren Over “Weak Mindset” Amidst Title Fight with Max Verstappen