Brown to his drivers: Don't trade any paint!

But matters are not straightforward for the McLaren pair, as Max Verstappen, starting from pole, is their main threat, and Brown is wary of the Dutchman's performance following a dominant display in Qualifying, where neither Norris nor Piastri had an answer to the Red Bull driver's devastating pace.

Speaking after qualifying on Saturday evening at Yas Marina, Brown said: "I feel good. We’ve got a good race car for tomorrow.

"Get a good start tomorrow, good first lap, things settle in. I think we’ve got a little advantage when it comes to strategy and we’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a nail-biter.

“I think Lando’s disappointed he didn’t get pole, and Oscar’s disappointed he didn’t get pole. I think there were maybe some little nerves at the start in Q1, but then everything settled down and it was business as usual.

“Max put in two spectacular laps—he was concerned about the tow that he got from Tsunoda, but he didn’t need it the second time around.

"Hopefully they dialed in a one-lap wonder and they’ll pay the price tomorrow, but I’m not so sure that’s the case," the American mused.

But the main talking point for McLaren is if and how they might deploy team orders to make sure one of their drivers ends up on top of the Drivers' Championship at the chequered flag.

Other than saying there would be conversations, Brown refused to divulge any details about them; he said: “We’re going to have them tonight and then again in the morning.

"We’re going to have an initial chat tonight then sleep on it, but it’s all to play for so I think going into tomorrow, it’s the obvious ‘don’t trade any paint’ as they say in NASCAR land.

“See how the race plays out, and if it becomes apparent that one or the other is in a position where they can or can’t win, then we’ll look at strategy. I think sitting here right now, it’s all to play for. It’s go, go, go.

“You’ve got two guys going for the championship so I’m sure Oscar’s mindset is ‘I need to win’," he continued. "If he wins, that takes points off Max which means Lando doesn’t even need to finish third. There are two different mindsets, but the field is so close.

“I think the minute you’re not fully on it or if you’re too conservative, you’ll get swallowed up by the cars behind because it’s so close. I think it’s kind of business as usual – that’s got to be the approach.

“Max is a smart racing driver, not only fast, so we'll be ready for all the different scenarios," Brown concluded.

Verstappen starts the race from pole while Norris and Piastri start second and third respectively.