McLaren will be “ready” for Max Verstappen tactics in Abu Dhabi decider

McLaren CEO Zak Brown insists his team will be prepared for any tactic deployed by Max Verstappen in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen lines up on pole position for Sunday’s title decider, ahead of McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Norris will take the title if he finishes on the podium, even if Verstappen wins the race. As a result, many are expecting Verstappen to deliberately back up the McLaren duo, putting Norris’ podium finish in jeopardy.

Speaking to F1 TV, Brown is confident McLaren will be “ready for all the different scenarios.”

“We’ll be thinking all those through,” Brown said. “Max is a smart racing driver, not only fast. So we’ll be ready for all the different scenarios.”

Brown is also hopeful Red Bull dialled in a “one-lap wonder” setup, explaining Verstappen’s impressive qualifying pace.

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

“So hopefully they dialled in a one-lap wonder and they’ll pay the price tomorrow. But I’m not so sure that’s the case.”

Will McLaren favour Norris?

McLaren have continued to give both drivers equal opportunity.

For Piastri to take the title, he will realistically need to win the race, with Norris finishing sixth or lower. 

Despite Piastri’s slim chance, Brown says it’s “business as usual” in terms of giving both drivers a shot at the championship.

“We’ll talk about it in the morning, obviously, now that we know where we’ve qualified,” Brown explained.

“Obviously Lando needs to finish top three, Oscar needs to win and have some bad luck by both Max and Lando, which could happen. So I think it’s all to play for tomorrow.”

“You’ve got two guys going for the championship, so I’m sure Oscar’s mindset is ‘I need to win’,” he added. “And if he wins, then that takes points off Max, which means Lando doesn’t need to finish third.

“So I think there’ll be two different mindsets. But the field is so close, I think the minute you’re not fully on it, if you’re too conservative, you’ll get swallowed up by the cars behind because it’s so close. So I think business as usual has got to be the approach.”