Abu Dhabi GP: Lando wins Championship

Lando wins the Championship by securing P3 in Abu Dhabi. Max won the race but that was not enough. Same with Oscar who came P2.

Lando Champion in Abu Dhabi

Lando had a lead of 12 points over Max coming in to Abu Dhabi. That’s a good lead but not enough to secure the Championship by default. Max got the Pole and he looks in the prime of his life. He was cool and composed, as a 4 time World Champion, with nothing to lose. Lando started the race in P2. He had everything to lose. If Max won the race and Lando was not on the podium then the Championship was gone to Max. He had to play it safe as much as possible, without losing further ground to the racers behind him. The first turn would be crucial and Max is known to be a person who can push the limits to get what he wants.

In a way it was good for Lando that Max was on Pole and he was P2. Had it been reversed there is a big chance that Max would have dive bombed to get ahead. Lando would take evasive action to get out of the track. He won’t mind letting Max go ahead but in the process could lead to other drivers getting ahead too. As the race started the first turn went well and there was no chaos. Lando nicely tucked behind Max and let him go ahead. Oscar too behaved well. However he went ahead of Lando in a few laps, while behind on Hards. It is not sure whether this was intentional by the team or just Oscar trying to maximize his chances.

Cool Lando in Abu Dhabi

After that the race went on pretty much in an uneventful way. There was a threat of Charles driving quickly and threatening Lando in P3. However the threat subsided soon and Lando cruised to P3 and the Championship. It was a hard fought Championship for Lando. He started off well but then Oscar got in top form as the season went on. Then it in the second hard we saw the resurgent of Max. From being 104 points behind the leader, Max finished just two points behind. It was an incredible recovery for him. For Oscar things fell apart after Baku. The usually calm and composed Aussie started flustering and showing signs of Championship pressure. He got the form back in Qatar but by then it was too late. In all of this Lando was positive and cool, something we did not see last year as he was fighting Max. While all three were worthy contenders of the Title, it was a well deserved Championship for Lando Norris.

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