Lando Norris branded ‘cocky’ as F1 legend makes brutal ti...

Lando Norris branded ‘cocky’ as F1 legend makes brutal title showdown prediction

Liam Grace Published December 4, 2025 11:08am Updated December 4, 2025 11:08am Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments F1 Grand Prix of Qatar

Lando Norris simply needs to finish on the podium in Abu Dhabi to win the world title (Picture: Getty)

Formula One legend Bernie Ecclestone says Lando Norris is ‘cocky’ and has made a big prediction for the three-way title showdown in Abu Dhabi.

British star Norris remains the favourite to win his maiden F1 world title at the final race of the season on Sunday despite McLaren’s blunder in Qatar.

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri could also be crowned world champion with the two drivers 12 points and 16 points behind Norris in the title race.

Norris simply needs to finish on the podium in Abu Dhabi to become Britain’s first world champion since Lewis Hamilton and end Verstappen’s run of four titles in a row from 2021 to 2024.

Ecclestone, though, has brutally predicted that Norris will miss out and has backed Red Bull’s Dutch star Verstappen to land his fifth title in a row.

Verstappen realistically needs to win the race in Abu Dhabi and hope Norris is not on the podium – which occurred in Qatar – to clinch the title.

‘I still believe Max will do it,’ Ecclestone told the Daily Mail. ‘He deserves it.

How Max Verstappen can land world title in Abu Dhabi

AUTO-PRIX-F1-QAT-RACE Bernie Ecclestone has tipped Max Verstappen to win the world title (Picture: Getty)

Max Verstappen will be crowned world champion if he wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Lando Norris finishes fourth or lower.

If Verstappen ends up second, he’d need Norris to finish eighth or lower and Piastri to finish third or lower.

If Verstappen can only secure third, he’ll only win the title if Norris finishes ninth or lower and Piastri finishes second or lower.

Verstappen cannot clinch the world title if he doesn’t make the podium.

‘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.

Verstappen is a ‘one-off’ and ‘something special’, says Ecclestone (Picture: Getty)

‘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.’

Verstappen revels in being likened to a horror movie villain

Verstappen says Zak Brown can call him ‘Chucky’ after the McLaren chief likened him to a ‘horror movie’ character in his pursuit of Norris and Piastri.

‘He is like that guy in the horror movie who you think is down and then suddenly it’s, ‘where did he come from?!’ Brown told Sky Sports.

Verstappen, quizzed about Brown’s comments ahead of the race in Abu Dhabi, said: ‘He can call me Chucky.’

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