BERNIE ECCLESTONE REVEALS WHY HE BELIEVES MAX VERSTAPPEN WILL PIP 'COCKY' LANDO NORRIS TO THE TITLE
Formula One’s Godfather Bernie Ecclestone has declared that Max Verstappen will spoil the dreams of a ‘cocky’ Lando Norris, acclaiming the Dutchman as the best driver the sport has ever known.
The 95-year-old, who ran F1 with an iron-fist for 40 years, has already arrived in the UAE ahead of the title-decider, and he senses that Verstappen will get the job over the line, despite being 12 points behind Norris going into the finale.
Norris’s McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri is 16 points adrift and remains a threat in a three-way fight for the crown.
Ecclestone told Daily Mail Sport: ‘I still believe Max will do it. He deserves it. I used to say Alain Prost was the best driver of all time, doing it on his own without a radio to the pit wall telling him what to do, but I think Max is the best I have known. He stands alone.
‘Lando is fine, a really good driver, but he is over-confident, too cocky, believing his own publicity, but he gets nervous at crunch moments and can’t quite deliver the way Max can when the pressure is on.
‘I said from the start of the season that Max would do it in the end, and I still believe that is the case.
‘McLaren have been very helpful to Lando over Oscar, supporting him over the other guy, such as changing them around in Monza after Lando had a bad pit stop, and that way of working may yet be good for them, I don’t know. It’s not what I would have done. A bad pit stop is part of racing. You have to accept it, not engineer it.
‘But you can never bet against Max. He is something special. He is one-off, and a super-nice guy, and I hope he gets the job done.
‘He has nothing to lose, so that is also an advantage, too.’
Norris can finish third in Abu Dhabi, even if Verstappen wins, and take the title. The maths favour him.
In a sign of his heightened anxiety, however, Norris has reaaranged his schedule by pulling out of his customary briefing with the British press for the first time in his 152 races, to concentrate on the task in hand.
Read more- F1's clash of titans: Can Max Verstappen overcome the odds to snatch the title from leader Lando Norris in Abu Dhabi?
- Can McLaren's Lando Norris hold his nerve and finish third in Abu Dhabi to secure the title, or will Max Verstappen's relentless pursuit crush their dreams?
- Can Lando Norris snatch the F1 crown from Max Verstappen's grasp in a high-stakes, nail-biting finale with just six races left?
- Is Lando Norris ready to dethrone Max Verstappen and prove he's the ultimate F1 champion with a courageous fight for glory?
- Is Lando Norris daring to dethrone Max Verstappen, despite the Dutchman's bold driving and past controversies in the F1 championship race?