George Russell says Max Verstappen’s lead at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will give him a boost, but the title race will be over if Lando Norris takes first place.
At the Yas Marina circuit, Verstappen will start from pole position, with Norris second, and a podium finish for Norris will clinch the title. Verstappen needs to win the race and push Norris into the top three to retain his title, and Russell expects the race to look different depending on who gets off to a better start.
“So if you finish the first lap in the order you start the race, definitely he (Verstappen) is not going to just run off into the distance and give Lando an easy podium,” Russell said. “But after the first lap everything can change.
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“If Lando gets a good start and he takes the lead, the championship is over and dusted. We are not on the pace, but I’m sure we have a chance.”
“As an example, I think it’s quite normal to push the pack back on a street track. In Singapore, you control the pace and try to increase the lead around the pit stop. So you don’t have to drive dangerously like a hooligan to do that. You just have to get by with three or four tenths of a difference. Then the pack will condense.
“Depending on the track, you can easily drop half a second or a second at certain points without putting yourself in danger, without putting yourself at risk. So, yeah, you would expect him to do that.”
Russell, who qualified fourth, saw Yuki Tsunoda leading Verstappen in the first run of Q3 and was doing everything in his power to improve his grid position. Russell asked Mercedes to follow Verstappen on track in case he wasn’t doing a flying lap. He expected that a tow might be provided to try to get another car in front of the McLaren.
“Well, that was kind of a tip for Red Bull on the pit wall to consider it!” he said. “Obviously Max came out early in run one in Q3 so he was in a position to do that and they obviously need someone in the mix.”
