Although the points are usually awarded on Sunday, this season has been characterised by the profound impact the qualifying session has on Sunday's race result.

In fact in 15 of the 23 Grands Prix so far, the driver who has started from pole has gone on to win the race. Upon further examination the driver starting from P2, having made a pass for the lead on the first lap of a race, has emerged as the victor on 4 races, evidence to how crucial track position is during the current regulations.

Out of the remaining four races, outright pace has determined the winner on one occasion with Piastri taking the win in Miami having started in P4.

The remaining three races are outliers such as Red Bull's dry set-up gamble going awry at the Britsh Grand Prix, Ferrari's unexpected drop in pace in Hungary - coupled with McLaren's placement of Norris on the preferred strategy - and the Woking-based team's Qatar GP pit stop miss.

Norris and Verstappen are currently level on the number of pole positions achieved in the F1 2025 season at seven each, with Piastri trailing both with six.

Currently Norris has the momentum in Abu Dhabiu, having set the best pace on both practice sessions, establishing a 0.363s gap to Verstappen in FP2, growing by over three and a half tenths from the previous delta between them of 0.008s in FP1.

Piastri is currently the driver who's title bid is currently the most at risk of failing, having placed P11, 0.680s off Norris' pace, in the second practice session.

With last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix's recording only 31 position changes made during the race, and with the teams' performance levels converging on the final year of the current regulations making the field tighter than it's been in recent times, barring an extraordinary circumstance, the champion could very well be determined by Saturday evening's qualifying session.

After showing marked improvements from FP1 to FP2, extending his gap on Verstappen by 0.355s, Norris said he was "not completely happy." Find out more here.

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