Verstappen: We just need a bit of luck and some Abu Dhabi magic!

The Dutchman was switched on behind the wheel of his RB21 during Qualifying, setting a time over two tenths quicker than Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to claim pole around the Yas Marina Circuit.

In fact, the two aforementioned McLaren drivers are his two rivals for the 2025 Drivers' crown. Norris is 12 points ahead of him, while Piastri is just four points behind. If Verstappen wins the Grand Prix, he will need Norris to finish in fourth place or worse for him to clinch a record-equalling fifth Drivers' Championship in a row.

So, The Red Bull driver has maximised matters by placing his car at the head of the field on the grid. But he will need a bit of luck to come his way to snatch the Drivers' Title out of Norris' grasp come the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Speaking after what was a dominant Qualifying display, Verstappen thanked his team for putting together a competitive package for the complexities of the Yas Marina Circuit.

He said: "It was a Simply Lovely Qualifying. We did well the whole weekend, have been fine tuning the car and then also made some final changes which helped the car a little bit.

"This allowed me to push a bit more to the limit and extract the most out of the car. We were improving nicely in Qualifying and then found a little bit more lap time with the corners.

In the race, the Dutch driver will obviously be aiming to cross the line in first position, but he will also need more than that to go his way to win the Championship.

He continued: "The big question mark is can we keep up that pace in the race? Tomorrow, the plan is to win the race and then we need a bit of luck to win the Championship, it’s as simple as that.

"We will go all out and have nothing to lose, whether we need to attack or defend.

"The most important battle needs to happen tomorrow and we need to outscore them by 12 points; we knew that if we wanted to be in the fight we had to be first.

"I have the least to lose and I am very relaxed. It is exciting to be on Pole, but we just need a bit of luck for the rest of it and some Abu Dhabi magic," concluded the defending Champion.

Can Verstappen clinch the Title once again in 2025? The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix commences Sunday 7 December at 13:00 GMT (17:00 local time).