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Lando Norris-Max Verstappen, sparks on track: McLaren driver’s outburst

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Beyond and beyond the indications from the point of view of lap times, Friday’s free practice in Abud Dhabi, site of the last seasonal grand prix of the Formula 1 World Championship, also gave a moment of tension between two of the three drivers vying for the 2025 title, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. During the second session, which saw precisely the McLaren driver get the best time ahead of the Red Bull driver, the two almost came to contact: the Briton expressed all his disappointment over the radio, venting to his track engineer Will Joseph, who as always follows him from the pit wall.

“What are you doing? We were going to have an accident!” shouted Norris, immediately demanding that the’incident be reported to race management. It all happened coming out of the first corner, when the’current World Championship leader found himself in front of Verstappen proceeding at low speed, warned (according to the Woking stable driver) belatedly by his own track engineer. The outburst, however, did not lead to an investigation by race management, which found no grounds to launch an’investigation into the incident. In post-session interviews at the organizers’ microphones, Norris preferred to talk about other issues, saying he was happy in the car while reasoning about possible tuning changes.

Francesco LuciveroHannah Schmitz: the decisive woman behind Max Verstappen’s comeback

The images of Hannah Schmitz: the decisive woman behind Max Verstappen’s comeback
The 40-year-old Red Bull engineer played a key role in the Dutch driver’s season
Hannah Schmitz is the Red Bull team’s strategy manager
often behind the victories and resounding races of the four-time world champion are his tactical insights
Hannah Schmitz, married and mother of two, contributed decisively to Verstappen’s 2021 sprint victory over Hamilton in Abu Dhabi
And also this'year, considering that the World Cup title race will close in Abu Dhabi, he can make a big contribution
Hannah Schmitz has been called the'"secret weapon" of Max Verstappen
Schmitz started working for Red Bull in 2009
Over the years he has taken an increasingly prominent role in the team
His quick thinking and the lucidity of his decisions are invaluable to the Austrian team
In Qatar she celebrated together with Verstappen on the podium because she was the one who guessed the right strategy

Verstappen is 12 points behind Norris with one race to go in the F1 World Championship

Ahead of the final chapter of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, Lando Norris leads the standings with 408 points, ahead of Max Verstappen&#8217s 396 and Oscar Piastri&#8217s 392 on the other McLaren. The fourteen-point lead allows Norris to look forward to the Abu Dhabi race with a fair degree of optimism even though the history of the top open-wheel category has yielded several surprise endings: the last title awarded at the last checkered flag was the decidedly controversial one in 2021, with Max Verstappen author of the decisive overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton (then at Mercedes) on the very last lap of the Abu Dhabi GP, on the restart from a disputed Safety Car regime.

The Abu Dhabi race will be held on Sunday, December 7, at 2 p.m. Italian time (5 p.m. local time).

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