Motorsports

The Nicole Scherzinger theory behind Lewis Hamilton's F1 performances

Published

9 months ago

March 26, 2025

The Nicole Scherzinger theory behind Lewis Hamilton's F1 performances

“When he first came into this sport, we used to joke amongst the team that Lewis’s performance was so intrinsically linked to the state of their relationship,” Priestley said on his Pitlane Life Lessons podcast.“As in, on a good day, he performed well. When their relationship was in the doldrums, and they were so off and on, it was a bit like an emotional roller coaster – when he was in these low points in the relationship, you could clearly track the performance in the car to the way their relationship status seemed to be.

Lewis Hamilton’s relationship with Nicole Scherzinger could be ‘clearly tracked’

“Lewis told me he’s been working constantly on trying to correct that self-story. He’s been working on trying to understand what he can do differently about what he tells himself.
“He said he came to an understanding and an appreciation that clearly that wasn’t good for him, and the more that he kept telling himself that story, that it was his fault, that he wasn’t good enough, that’s Lewis telling himself a story in his own mind that then backs up the beliefs that he isn’t good enough,” he said.
“We joked that there seemed to be more lap time in keeping those two together than there ever could be with anything we could do with the car!
“To get the driver, who’s a key part of that debrief, in a state where he’s just throwing petulance [with] answers that are unhelpful to you because he’s so down, that’s not in any way productive and doesn’t help us get closer to a solution.
“But he’d often go away on a Saturday night, he’d disappear, and I wouldn’t see him on a Saturday evening. He would sometimes even cancel commitments to sponsors and partners. He would disappear and shut himself in a room, and he probably pondered over it for quite some time, digging himself into an even bigger and deeper hole, is how he’s described it to me in years gone by.
“It’s not a strength necessarily or a weakness, it’s just part of who we are and our individualism. Lewis has some unbelievable strengths that many of us can only dream of being able to achieve.
“Lewis is a guy who’s quite emotional. He wears his heart on his sleeve so, without the ability to really control those emotions to the level that some other people might be able to do or might find easier to do, we were faced with an unbelievably talented racing driver whose performance was, in some way, affected by how his emotional state was, which varied greatly at different times over a race weekend or a season.”
“The more we tell ourselves those stories, the more that story embeds itself in our mind. What happens when that situation occurs is that, over time, we’ll have another disappointing day, and the first thing our mind goes to is this embedded self story that we’re not good enough, that the reason it hasn’t gone well on a Saturday in qualifying or in our own lives, and whatever might have not worked out the way we expected, we jump to this embedded self-story that we’ve been telling ourselves sometimes for years, in many people’s cases, that we’re simply not good enough, or that we’re not as good as the people around us.
“It may be that you’ve had a couple of bad days. It may be that you’re still performing at a very high level, but someone else has come along who’s performing at a higher level. That’s real, and that’s okay, by the way, we can’t control what others do around us, only what we control about what we do ourselves.
“He’d come out of the car on a Saturday after qualifying when it’s been disappointing, and he would go away that evening, and he’d be very quiet. He’d be very down. He wouldn’t offer very much in terms of the debrief.
“But there was a serious point to that, in that it was about understanding and appreciating that Lewis’s emotional state clearly affected his performance. This is not just linked to Lewis Hamilton; of course, we all face these challenges in life.
But, as has been evidenced on countless occasions over the years, Hamilton had, and has, an uncanny ability to brush off negativity.
“Actually, you could easily look at his comments in a post-session debrief after a really difficult Saturday, and he could come across as being petulant. It was often one-word answers. It was the same sort of thing you see in an interview sometimes that you see post-race in the modern era – he can sometimes give flippant or one-word answers that are not in any way really helpful to the process.
The tumultuous nature of the relationship, which was quite often in the public eye due to the celebrity status of both Hamilton and Scherzinger, led his McLaren mechanics to be able to hazard guesses at how well things were going off-track for Hamilton, with Marc Priestley revealing how the garage crew would joke about Scherzinger being the biggest contributor to laptime than any car upgrade.
“Now he finds that quite a difficult thing to do because of that disposition that he has around finding it hard to regulate his own emotions. His emotional state can be so overwhelmingly powerful for him that if something negative happens, it’s very difficult to remember this idea of trying to be confident, to be positive, to tell yourself a good self story.
One of Lewis Hamilton’s former McLaren mechanics has joked how the state of his relationship with Nicole Scherzinger could be tracked by his in-car performances.
“He mulled it over in his mind and continued to tell himself that same story – that he wasn’t doing a good enough job. He would beat himself up emotionally. He would completely reiterate the negative thought processes that he’d been having that afternoon right through into the night until he went to sleep.”
“It’s something that’s intentional that stops the flow of any other thoughts getting in. If you’re intentional about what the thought is, the one thought you’re going to think about and focus everything on it, there is no space for anything else to come in, and that’s the way you create a period of space in your mind. You calm things down. You create this blank space where, at the end of that meditation, where you’re feeling calm, you’re feeling relaxed, but importantly, your mind is free of all of the mess that was in it before.
Upon arriving in Formula 1 in 2007, Hamilton began a long-term relationship with Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, which proved to be quite on and off before the couple split for good in 2015.
“‘Well, now look, I’m verging on 40. I’m creeping into the latter stages of my career. Maybe that’s the reason that I’m now being beaten by this young gun’. Well, the reality is it may be that, but there’s a very high chance it’s not that.
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“In Formula 1, it’s really easy to look at other great people in this sport, other teams that might be winning, or drivers that might be winning and measure ourselves against them. If you’re going up against a Max Verstappen, for example, who’s much younger than a Lewis Hamilton that’s now in his 40s, if you’re measuring yourself up against that guy, one of the stories you’re likely to start allowing to creep in is that age must be the factor, because ‘I used to be able to beat him. I used to be able to beat everybody’.

More on Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1

“He creates that freedom and space by eradicating everything and thinking about just one single thing, whether it’s your breath or a kind of mantra that you repeat to yourself, whatever it might be.
“But one thing he was quite good at was waking up the next day with a fresh perspective. He always said to me that this was a new day, a new set of opportunities,” Priestley said.

What methods does Lewis Hamilton use to help control his emotions?

“I’m talking about the thought processes, the constant conversations we all have with ourselves. The person we speak to most in this world, for all of us, is ourselves, and we do that all the time, don’t we? We ask ourselves questions, we tell ourselves things. We question our ability at times, sometimes it might be telling us positive things, and that’s what Lewis said he’d been trying to work on doing, constantly telling himself positive things over and above negative things, even when negative things had been happening.
“How often do we see a way better Sunday than we see him have on a Saturday? That was the same quite often, even way back when he first came into the sport working with us at McLaren.”
“To try and stop that, Lewis has found a way of creating an area of space in his mind, a period of time where he allows nothing to go on in his mind other than this very intentional thought through his meditation.
“So, trying to create a positive emotional state is going to help create a more positive outcome in your performance. So that’s Lewis Hamilton’s idea around meditation, around clearing the mind and resetting the mind. He was able to do that very, very successfully.”
“He may not have expectations that he might have had going into Saturday. His expectations might have had to be reset but, in doing so, he takes away some pressure. He relieves himself of that burden that was overwhelming him on a Saturday. And we go into Sunday with a Lewis that’s there, ready to take the opportunities, to push like crazy.
“The more he hears that story internally, the more substantiated it becomes, and the more ingrained in his own belief system that message becomes. It’s the same for all of us – if we continually tell ourselves that we have messed something up, that it was our fault, that maybe we start to question our own ability, our own performance levels, whatever it is, whether we’re getting old and we can’t do things the way we used to, which, I have no doubt, has crept into Lewis’s mind at times.
“Some of us find it slightly easier to manage and regulate emotions and others. Others of us don’t.
“He says when he wakes up early, he just does the meditation, he clears his mind, and then he goes straight out for a run. Off the back of that, he goes into an exercise regime, which is obviously part of his physical preparation, but because he’s got clear mind and a clear space in his head when he goes for a run, he’s able to think about what he wants to achieve that day, whether it’s in a car or in any other area of his life. This is a really powerful practice, which does take some skill and some practice.
“This was a case of coming in to try and do it better. If you ever see a TV interview on a Sunday morning after a Saturday afternoon where he struggled in qualifying, even today, that’s generally what you get. You get a new Lewis Hamilton where he’s no longer down. He’s no longer struggling with emotions. He’s now got this fresh perspective where he sees nothing but opportunity in front of him.
“But, emotion regulation is probably not one of the things that he finds easiest to do.
“Now, you get to start from a fresh like a blank sheet of paper where you can insert whatever you want to happen next.
Hamilton’s emotional control may not have been exemplary at this point in time, with Priestley revealing how frank conversations he’s had with Hamilton over the years since has seen the now-seven-time F1 World Champion explain how he dealt with tough days at the track.
“As engineers, our only goal was to try and improve things so that it could be better the next day or the next time out.
Read Next: Follow PlanetF1.com’s WhatsApp and Facebook channels for all the F1 breaking news!
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“Lewis Hamilton, when he was struggling, when he’s having those tough days, as I said, he might have had a difficult Saturday,” Priestley said.
“Go back to that interview in 2024 where he came out of the car on a Saturday, and he quoted to say, ‘I’m just not fast anymore’.
A primary method Hamilton uses, Priestley explained, is in meditation. An interview the former McLaren mechanic-turned-broadcaster and presenter carried out with Hamilton in 2023 led to a conversation in which Priestley revealed how Hamilton employs the practice to help address his mental state.

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Lando Norris wins F1 world championship by just two points – Motorsport – Sports

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Lando Norris secured his place as the 11th British driver to win the Drivers’ Championship title after finishing third at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – finishing just two points clear at the top of the standings.

The 26-year-old entered the weekend as the world championship leader, holding a 12-point lead over 2024 champion Max Verstappen, while teammate Oscar Piastri was still in contention, trailing the Dutchman by four points.

Norris had a chance to clinch the trophy in Qatar the previous weekend, but a misguided McLaren strategy allowed Verstappen to score maximum points and stay in the competition. As a result, Norris faced immense pressure heading into Abu Dhabi.

The conditions were straightforward: finish on the podium, and Norris would be crowned world champion. In qualifying, he laid the groundwork by edging out teammate Piastri for second on the grid, behind pole-sitter Verstappen.

When the race started on Sunday, Norris got off to a good start but was quickly blocked by Verstappen, who maintained the lead at Turn One. He then lost a spot to teammate Piastri, who started on the hard compound Pirelli tires and executed a well-timed, sweeping move around the outside of Turn Nine.

From that point, Norris found himself under pressure from Charles Leclerc. Ferrari had little to celebrate in Saturday’s qualifying but demonstrated strong race pace on Sunday, with the Monegasque racer staying within DRS range during the initial laps, keeping Norris on his toes.

Early pit stops from the trailing cars forced Norris to pit on lap 16 to prevent an undercut. After a swift service from the McLaren team, he found himself behind a multi-car DRS train but, crucially, ahead of Leclerc.

Following a series of decisive maneuvers, he closed in on Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, defended fiercely and, according to the stewards, crossed the line. Tsunoda was slapped with a five-second time penalty for weaving on the straight as Norris made a sharp move approaching Turn Six.

After navigating through the traffic, Norris’ task became easier. He extended his lead over Leclerc to more than six seconds while Piastri stayed out longer on his hard tires at the front. With 18 laps left, Leclerc made his final pit stop, prompting a cautious response from McLaren.

2.4 seconds later, the papaya-colored car exited the pit without any issues. On the same lap, Verstappen overtook Piastri on the track, and the Australian made his first and only pit stop.

With 14 laps remaining, Leclerc began to apply pressure, reducing Norris’ lead. However, the Brit had tire life to spare and responded, maintaining a four-second gap to the Ferrari driver.

From there, it was simply a matter of completing the race to the finish line. A seven-year F1 journey reached its peak, and British motorsport reclaimed its place at the top of the world.

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Motorsports

NASCAR driver loses ride immediately after winning the championship

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Corey Heim entered the 2025 NASCAR Truck Series season having already competed in the series for two full seasons.

The 23-year-old Marietta, Georgia native went to the Championship 4 in both years (2023 and 2024) and combined for nine wins during that stretch with Tricon Garage, to go along with the two wins he earned during his second partial season with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2022.

While most viewed him as a Cup-ready prospect even before the 2025 season, Heim signed with 23XI Racing as a development driver. In addition to running another full season in the Truck Series, he ran select races with 23XI Racing in the Cup Series and Sam Hunt Racing in the Xfinity Series.

The Toyota Racing Development star was dominant in the Truck Series, winning 12 of 25 races and capturing the championship. But he is still without a full-time ride for the 2026 season, and it has been confirmed that he will not be back behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota for Tricon Garage.

Corey Heim out at Tricon after winning 2025 NASCAR Truck Series championship

Kaden Honeycutt, who made it to the Championship 4 with Halmar Friesen Racing after being dropped by Niece Motorsports before the regular season ended, is set to replace Heim in 2026, while Heim will likely not have any full-time ride during the coming season for a number of reasons that continue to frustrate most NASCAR fans.

First of all, 23XI Racing have once again opted for Riley Herbst’s Monster Energy funding, thanks to the Herbst family-owned Terrible’s gas station chain, even after he finished 35th of 36 full-time drivers in the point standings with a series-worst top finish of 14th.

In fact, in his four Cup starts, Heim beat Herbst’s season-best finish twice, and on both occasions, he also beat teammates Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace.

Then there’s the fact that Heim is presumed to be blacklisted by Joe Gibbs Racing. The clear-cut top Toyota destination at the Xfinity (now O’Reilly Auto Parts) level reportedly want no part of Heim due to his fractured relationship with Ty Gibbs from their days together in the ARCA Menards Series, even with two seats, plus select races in a third, still available – and yes, even with Gibbs having been competing in the Cup Series since 2023.

Of course, some believe that Heim would have effectively had a Tricon Garage ride available if he had wanted it, and that would make total sense after the success he’s had over the past few years; perhaps he has simply outgrown the Truck Series at this point, or perhaps he is indeed putting together something a lot better.

But the fact remains that he doesn’t currently have a full-time seat lined up anywhere else for 2026, and he won’t be back full-time at the team with which he just won the title to cap off arguably the most dominant season in the history of the series.

It is expected that Heim will run select races with at least 23XI Racing (Cup) and Sam Hunt Racing (O’Reilly) again in 2026. But if a full-on Cup promotion to 23XI Racing doesn’t come in 2027, don’t be surprised if he gets out from under the Toyota umbrella and signs with a team actually willing to give him the promotion and the ride he’s clearly shown he’s ready for.

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Snowball Derby 2025 postponed to Monday

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Snowball Derby 300-lap late model race has been postponed to Monday due to inclement weather at Five Flags Speedway.

The premier super late model race will go green Monday at around 2 p.m. ET in Pensacola, Florida. All of the support division races will go green Tuesday, starting at 5 p.m. ET

The race was set to go green Sunday at 2 p.m. ET but a rain delay meant engines didn’t fire until four hours later. Then, the drivers did a couple of pace laps and came back to pit road due to fog.

Now on to Monday, the Snowball Derby is hoping to not go five for five. For four consecutive days, rain hampered on-track activities and condensed qualifying down to qualifying and the last-chance qualifier back-to-back at a breakneck speed before the Snowflake 125 that ended in the early Sunday morning hours.

2025 Snowball Derby Lineup

Preston Peltier: 16.240 seconds
Ty Majeski (16.301)
Hudson Bulger (16.319)
Jake Finch (16.325)
Spencer Davis (16.327)
Michael Atwell (16.350)
Jace Hansen (16.353)
David Gilliland (16.356)
Haeden Plybon (16.362)
Kasey Kleyn (16.384)
Dylan Fetcho (16.401)
Dawson Sutton (16.425)
Cole Butcher (16.431)
Jacob Gomes (16.433)
Derek Thorn (16.434)
Kaden Honeycutt (16.437)
Carson Brown (16.446)
Tristan McKee (16.450)
Max Reaves (16.459)
Bubba Pollard (16.486)
Derek Kraus (16.488)
Treyten Lapcevich (16.493
Casey Roderick (16.494)
Ty Fredrickson (16.498)
Buddy Shepherd (16.498)
Dustin Smith (16.504)
Ryan Preece (16.519)
Brandon Lopez (16.521)
Kole Raz (16.524)
Chase Pinsonneault (16.543)
Kyle Busch (LCQ)
Stephen Nasse (LCQ)
Derek Griffith (LCQ)
Jake Garcia (LCQ)
Matt Craig (Points Provisional)
Gavan Boschele (Points Provisional)

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com

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Max Verstappen’s wife has child with F1 driver he replaced – Motorsport – Sports

Published

12 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Max Verstappen is gearing up to stage a fourth consecutive F1 world championship defense in Abu Dhabi with girlfriend Kelly Piquet as his supporting cast. The Dutchman, 28, began dating Piquet, 37, the daughter of Formula 1 legend Nelson Piquet, in 2020.

However, the couple met a few years prior, when Max was 17, and she was dating Daniil Kvyat, with whom she had one child, Penelope. Kvyat also happened to be the driver Verstappen replaced at Red Bull in 2016.

Piquet has been by Verstappen’s side ever since, often travelling to F1 races as he proceeded to take the checkered flag and win four consecutive world championships along the way, as well as welcoming a daughter, Lily, earlier this year. The RB driver has already made a case for himself to be considered one of the best drivers of all time, much like his potential future father-in-law, Nelson, minus the controversy.

Kelly’s sister, Julia, is married to a motorsport star, NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez. The couple got married last year. It’s unlikely that the brothers-in-law will compete against each other, with Verstappen not fancying a stint in NASCAR.

“I like watching all different kinds of racing. For me, it’s just that on an oval, I don’t want to do it just for the risk of injury, you know, when you hit the fence,” Verstappen said on racing in NASCAR. “It’s not worth it, also if you have done your stuff in Formula 1, and yeah, I mean maybe you can win more there, and I mean that would be something that I would love, but it’s not worth the risk of having a really bad accident and hurting yourself really badly.

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“And I know in F1 that can happen as well, but they’re hitting the wall at 370, or whatever, is not something I am planning to do, but it’s sometimes not even your fault, right?

“Anything can happen. But to sometimes avoid a little bit of the risk, if you can, I would do that.”

However, F1’s upcoming regulation changes could force Verstappen out of the sport in the next few years. He’s already won four titles and is in the running for a fifth on Sunday in the Middle East, after clinching pole ahead of championship contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

“My contract runs until 2028, but it will depend on the new rules in 2026, and if they are nice and fun. If they are not fun, than I don’t really see myself hanging around,” Verstappen admitted.

“Winning seven titles is not on my mind. I know that there are three more years after this one, so it could be possible, but it is not something I need to do before I leave the sport. I can leave the sport easily tomorrow.

“I have a lot of other passions; other racing categories, I want to spend more time with the family, and live off my own schedule. And in my mind I know if I close the chapter, it is closed. I don’t see myself stopping and coming back. Once I stop, I really stop.”

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Brad Keselowski glad Michael Annett ‘no longer suffering’ after death – Motorsport – Sports

Published

12 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation

After Michael Annett, a former NASCAR driver known for his one Xfinity Series win and many years on the circuit, died at age 39, the racing world has been left stunned.

Among those mourning was Cup Series star Brad Keselowski, who emotionally reflected on a shared past with Annett and expressed relief that his friend is “no longer suffering”.

Annett’s career spanned more than a decade across NASCAR’s national series. Over 436 total starts, including 321 in what is now the Xfinity Series, he earned a reputation for resilience and professionalism, as his former racing team put out a touching statement after his death.

His most significant triumph came at the 2019 season-opening race at Daytona, a hard-fought victory that remains his singular win at the national series level.

In addition to his national tour success, Annett also left his mark earlier in his career with two wins in the ARCA Menards Series, at Talladega in 2007 and at Daytona in 2008, victories that positioned him as a serious talent among rising drivers.

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Keselowski reminisced about those ARCA wins on social media, writing, “I remember this day vividly. Michael was an up and comer at the same time I was and he was looking really good.”

“In the end, Life took us different paths and all of us who knew him and the talent he had are sad to see him go, but glad he is no longer suffering.”

His final years in the sport were spent with JR Motorsports (JRM), from 2017 until his retirement in 2021 due to a stress fracture in his leg.

Even after retirement, those who raced with him remember Annett as a steady, respected presence in the garage.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Annett family with the passing of our friend Michael Annett,” the statement from JRM team read. “Michael was a key member of JRM from 2017 until he retired in 2021 and was an important part in turning us into the four-car organization we remain today.”

Because the cause of death has not been released, many questions remain unanswered. Still, for those who shared the track, the sentiment is clear: Annett’s life and career mattered deeply.

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Verstappen expected to win race, Norris title

Published

12 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation

(GMM) Formula 1’s most dramatic three-way title decider in years has been set up perfectly in Abu Dhabi – Max Verstappen on pole, Lando Norris alongside, Oscar Piastri right behind (pictured).

“McLaren hasn’t been under this much pressure in a long time,” warned former team driver and F1 legend Gerhard Berger.

The strain showed on Norris’ face – admittedly behind “the only driver” he’s really worried about. He openly admitted he was “disappointed” not to beat Verstappen, knowing the Dutchman can now control the race from the front.

A Verstappen win alone won’t give the Dutchman his unlikely fifth title, because for Norris the maths is simple – finish P3 and he’s champion.

Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Second placed qualifier Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren congratulate each other in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 06, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Sam Bloxham/LAT Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //

Whether Norris can keep his nerve is the question dominating the paddock. Verstappen immediately declared he wants “chaos” behind him – and even said he likes the pressure.

His father, Jos, speaking to De Limburger from Africa where he’s rallying, agreed: “Put the pressure on him like this, and he’ll go even faster.”

Nico Rosberg thinks Verstappen’s most realistic route to the championship resembles the way Lewis Hamilton tried to stop his title charge in Abu Dhabi in 2016.

“Max’s best chance is probably to hold up the whole field,” he told Sky Deutschland. “I know that very well from 2016.

“Max also has his teammate in P10. If the McLarens drop behind them after their stops, that could be his best chance. But Max will need a masterful performance.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he expects it too: “If Max keeps the whole field together, we can be right in the mix.”

Ralf Schumacher laid out the strategic nightmare for McLaren.

“If the two McLarens were at the front, they would do their own thing. But now things are different,” he said. “One small mistake at the start and anything can happen. And Lando was always a bit nervous at the start.

Related Article: Formula 1 News: Verstappen wins crucial pole for Abu Dhabi GP

“Piastri now has to drive for Norris,” Schumacher added. “If Russell and Leclerc get ahead of Norris, McLaren would lose the championship. Piastri has to cover Norris at the start, be careful at the pitstops, and if necessary, hold back Russell and Leclerc.”

Dr Helmut Marko also expects a tense race – beginning with the race start. “Normally, Norris always gets nervous when he’s up front next to Max,” he said.

Even though the odds are against Verstappen winning the title from 12 points back, few deny he has produced the most impressive season – and perhaps his most impressive of all.

Mathias Lauda told Osterreich: “He had so much of an inferior car – I’ve never seen anything like it. He just doesn’t give a damn. It would have impressed my father, too.”

Asked for his prediction, Niki Lauda’s son added: “It’s Norris. He just needs to keep a cool head. To finish only fourth with such a strong car would be unacceptable.”

Both Norris and Piastri claimed on Saturday that team orders haven’t been formally addressed. Lauda doesn’t buy it.

“Absolutely, there will be team orders,” he said. “They can’t afford any more mistakes. They’ll wait for the start, and then they have to make sure Norris finishes at least third.

“They’re under a lot of pressure now; it will be interesting to see how they handle it.”