Fernando Alonso cautions Lando Norris that being a championship chief going into the final race is just not all the time a bonus

Fernando Alonso believes that Lando Norris holding the lead within the championship doesn’t essentially assure him the title. Speaking to media, together with Sportskeeda, forward of the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi, the two-time world champion mirrored on his personal experiences in multi-way title fights, notably the dramatic 2010 showdown towards Sebastian Vettel.

In 2010, Vettel fought Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and Mark Webber for the crown, with the title finally determined by a single level. Alonso was additionally a part of a three-way battle in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen and Hamilton, a championship that additionally got here all the way down to the ultimate race and was settled by a single level.

Alonso recalled how an ill-timed security automotive on the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP performed a defining function within the title consequence. He drew a parallel to the 2025 Qatar GP, the place an premature security automotive triggered McLaren’s strategic collapse, compromising each pit stops. The error allowed Max Verstappen to shut in on Norris and transfer as much as second within the standings, 12 factors behind the Briton, whereas Oscar Piastri slipped to 3rd, 14 factors off his teammate.

The Spaniard famous that in conditions like these, predicting the end result turns into almost unattainable. Title finales, he stated, not often unfold like regular race weekends for the contenders. To hold Norris and Piastri totally centered, McLaren have shielded each drivers from media duties past their necessary press convention. Verstappen, Fernando Alonso noticed, seems extra relaxed and nearer to his traditional routine. The single press convention that includes all three title protagonists was filled with journalists and photographers, a testomony to the magnitude of the battle awaiting F1 in Abu Dhabi.

Asked by Sportskeeda if the title battle on the 2025 season finale reminded him of the 2010 Abu Dhabi race, Fernando Alonso replied:

“Yeah, I mean, the last time that it was three drivers, he was back in 2010. So, yeah, I don’t know, the prediction is difficult. Always you think that the leading guy has an advantage because has some margin, in terms of results, and you can take it at this year. But you know, Formula One is unpredictable and you, it was a safety car and back in 2010, that it was, you know, the wrong choice to don’t take it. It was a safety car last week, it was a wrong choice as well, not to take it [pitstop]. But you know, these things can’t happen in a Formula One race, so it’s not guaranteed, even if you are leading the championship.”

Asked if such a title decider was just like a traditional season finale, Fernando Alonso replied:

“No, it is hard. It is hard, because, you know, from yesterday, that you do a couple of events and today, the media is always the same question. And even if you want to switch it off and treat it like a normal weekend, you know, there are always inputs from outside that they remind you that it’s a very special race. So, yeah, it’s more stress for sure, more pressure. But at the end of the day, I think when you close the visor and you leave the garage, your driving style or you’re driving technique and your wish of doing well and win the race doesn’t change much. So it’s not that you drive differently., So yeah i think it’s going to be a normal weekend inside the car a different weekend on the outside.”

Fernando Alonso was additionally requested about the potential of him or Verstappen successful the title if the MCL39 had been at their disposal, however he gave an neutral response.

Fernando Alonso wished to not predict whether or not he or Max Verstappen would have been victorious within the McLaren

Fernando Alonso advised it was unattainable to foretell whether or not he or Max Verstappen would have already sealed the championship had they been driving the McLaren MCL39. The Dutchman has repeatedly claimed this season that if he had been within the McLaren seat, the title would have wrapped up way back.

Fernando Alonso, nonetheless, careworn as soon as once more that equipment performs a decisive function in F1, some extent he has emphasised all through his profession. In traditional Alonso vogue, he joked that drivers don’t all the time win championships in the perfect automotive, delivering the road along with his traditional dry humour and sending the media right into a roar of laughter contained in the Aston Martin hospitality.

Asked if he or Verstappen would have already gained the championship within the dominant McLaren this season, Fernando Alonso stated:

“You never know. I mean, you never know. It’s always a guess, you know, difficult to answer. You know, I think we all know that Max is an incredible driver and, you know extracting the maximum from the car and some of the races he has won this year, maybe it was not really up to the car, it was up to him and also last year. But yeah, you never know. I mean, my case, we will say that we can win the championship with the best car, you we all have that self confidence. But, it’s a question that you cannot answer.”

Asked if Verstappen didn’t win the title, would it not imply that the perfect driver wouldn’t have gained the championship, Fernando Alonso joked:

“This has been occurring for the final 19 years now. So it can now be twentieth.”

Fernando Alonso gained two world championships however misplaced no less than three others by agonisingly small margins, one to 3 factors. In 2007, he fell quick to Kimi Räikkönen; in 2010 to Sebastian Vettel, and in 2012, he entered a two-way showdown with Vettel that went all the way down to the ultimate laps in Brazil. Formula 1 has seen a number of titles determined on the final race, together with the 2016 battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and the dramatic 2021 finale between Max Verstappen and Hamilton. The 2021 decider turned the most-watched sporting occasion of the yr, and the present championship is shaping as much as be one other generational spectacle.

The ground-effect period has largely belonged to Red Bull and Verstappen, with the crew dominating the final three seasons. McLaren, nonetheless, has turned the tide on the constructors’ entrance, successful the title final yr and once more this yr. Their lacking piece stays the drivers’ championship, a trophy they haven’t claimed since 2008, when Lewis Hamilton secured their final crown. A 3-way title combat has solely occurred twice earlier than in F1 historical past, making this season much more outstanding. As issues stand, Lando Norris leads Max Verstappen by 12 factors, with Oscar Piastri 14 factors behind his teammate, establishing a finale for the ages.