YAS MARINA, Abu Dhabi — George Russell thinks his old friend Lando Norris will have the title “done and dusted” if he beats Max Verstappen into Turn 1 on Sunday, but hinted at a long and difficult race if he does not.
Russell might well have the best seat in the house on Sunday, having qualified fourth on the grid behind title rivals Verstappen, Norris and Oscar Piastri. The start looks set to be a crucial one in determining how the race unfolds — Verstappen put himself on pole, but Norris starts second and only needs a podium finish to guarantee himself the title.
Saturday night’s qualifying result raised speculation in the paddock Verstappen’s best tactic from the lead of the race would be to dramatically slow the pace from and back Norris and Piastri into the chasing pack, which Russell would hope to be at the front of, and hope they drop down the order.
When that hypothetical was put to him, Russell said: “I mean, if we finish Lap 1 in the order we start the race, then definitely, [Verstappen’s] not just going to drive off into the distance and hand Lando an easy podium, but everything can change after Lap 1.
“If Lando makes a good start and gets the lead, the championship’s done and dusted. So, we don’t have the pace, but I’m confident there’ll be opportunities.”
Backing up from the lead would not only increase the jeopardy to the McLaren drivers, it could also encourage the drivers from Russell down to think about swapping from the likely one-stop strategy onto a two-stop, which would add an unpredictable element into the grand prix.
Russell said it is natural in some places for the lead driver to back the pack up to protect the race result and fully expects Verstappen to try it if he holds Norris off at the start.
“I think backing up the pack on a street track, as an example, is a very normal thing to do. You know, Singapore, you control the pace and then you try and extend the gap around the pit stops. So, you don’t need to drive like a hooligan or dangerously to do that.
“You can just manage by three or four tenths more, and that will condense the pack. At some tracks, you can easily drop half a second or a second at certain points without being dangerous, without causing risk to yourself. So, yeah, you’d expect him to be doing that.”
Polesitter Verstappen himself downplayed the idea of employing the backing up technique, citing how different the circuit is from 2016, when Lewis Hamilton almost successfully pulled it off in his head-to-head showdown with then-Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. Russell had appeared to be calling for help from Verstappen, who he famously called out publicly ahead of this race 12 months ago as a “bully.”
The Mercedes driver had told his team to release him for his final run right after Verstappen had left the garage in the hope of getting a tow down the straight, a boost modern Formula 1 cars can get from another when following from a certain distance due to the flow of air generated at speed. Russell laughed when reminded of the message.
“It was more of a hint to Red Bull on their pit wall to sort of consider it,” Russell said, referencing the fact that it was broadcast on the world broadcast feed.
“Because obviously Max went early in Q3 run one, so he kind of was in a position to do that, and they obviously needed somebody in the mix.”
