Stella expecting ‘sportsmanship and fairness’ in Abu Dhabi title decider

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella has said he is expecting the 2025 Formula 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi to play out “within the boundaries of sportsmanship and fairness”, as his drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris prepare to face off against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the title.

Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw Verstappen claim his eighth pole position of the season, with Norris and Piastri set to start the race in P2 and P3 respectively.

With Norris needing only to finish on the podium at the Yas Marina Circuit to secure his first F1 title, Stella was asked what approach his drivers would take to battling Verstappen, both in the first corner and as the race unfolded.

“I think from Lando's point of view, considering the inside in corner one in Abu Dhabi, I think he will just be relatively prudent,” said Stella. “It’s one of those where from the inside [you don't necessarily] get the better exit, and the car on the outside can close. So I think there will be some prudency, which is I think what I would recommend, certainly to Lando!

“He's in a very strong position from this point of view, so I think that's the approach. In terms of the options that Max has available to try and play his cards, honestly I'm not too worried. I think we will see some interesting racing, but I'm sure all this will happen within the boundaries of sportsmanship and fairness.”

One option posited to Stella was that Verstappen may attempt to back Norris and Piastri into the clutches of the chasing pack behind – similar to Lewis Hamilton’s attempts to back up then-Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg at the 2016 season finale at the same track.

But Stella said he felt that McLaren had the advantage in having both Norris and Piastri up in the top three – with Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda having effectively sacrificed his Qualifying to aid Verstappen by giving him a tow, with the Japanese driver set to start P10 in what could be his final F1 race after losing his seat at Red Bull for 2026.

“I think it's an advantage,” said Stella of the starting position of McLaren’s drivers relative to the Red Bulls. “We have more options to play. At some stage, if you slow down too much, you may be susceptible to being attacked with undercuts.

“You may expose yourself in terms of being overtaken. So I think definitely it's good that we are there with two cars. That's the position I would take, rather than having the two cars split and separated on track.”

Asked, meanwhile, about the parallels between 2025 and 2010 – when Stella was the race engineer at Ferrari for Fernando Alonso when the Spaniard lost out at the Abu Dhabi season finale to the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, Stella said: “I think the parallel this year fits even better than last year.

“Last year, we were playing for the Constructors’ Championship, the Drivers’ Championship was already closed as a matter. [In 2025] we go with three drivers into the final race, it's Abu Dhabi.

“You always want to make sure that you enter these events remembering that it's a privilege to be part of this page of history, of Formula 1, which will be the case independently of the outcome.”