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The finale to the Formula 1 world championship is perfectly poised after the triple championship challengers secured positions at the front of the starting lineup for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen delivered one of the performances of the season – in his stellar career – to take a scintillating pole position.

McLaren's Lando Norris, who enters the race as title leader with a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, is alongside the Dutch driver on the first row.

The Briton's team-mate Oscar Piastri, sixteen points behind the summit, starts third, alongside Mercedes' George Russell on the second row.

The Straightforward Equation for The Leader

For Norris, the equation is clear – and the task looks the same.

The 26-year-old will be champion for the first occasion if he secures a top-three finish, regardless of anyone else's result.

Verstappen, 28, would clinch a fifth consecutive title if he wins the race with Norris in fourth, or if he is second and Norris finishes outside seventh.

Australian Piastri, 24, requires some form of drama to happen to his rivals if he is to win his first title. He will also head into the race aware that there is a possibility he could be asked to move aside and assist Norris secure the title if his own chances have faded.

What Moves Will Verstappen Play?

Norris kept his answers after qualifying relatively short. He appears striving to keep himself settled and calm as he experiences the most intense weekend of his career.

That's understandable. Although his route to the championship is seemingly simple, the fact Verstappen's is not could render the points leader's race an uncomfortable one.

With the title on the line, and winning the grand prix not good enough on its own for Verstappen, the race is probably not going to be simple. What Verstappen and Red Bull might try to disrupt Norris's race is an open question.

"I don't know," Norris said, when asked whether he expected Verstappen to try to slow him into the pack. "I expect everything. So wait and see."

Verstappen faced the identical query. His response was to point out that it would be harder to execute now, since changes to the circuit have made it less stop-start.

"The track was configured differently," Verstappen stated. "In my opinion now you get towed around a lot more. So it's not as easy to do that."

He continued: "I want to win tomorrow, but I also know that victory alone is insufficient. So I just hope for some Yas Marina drama that unfolds behind me. We shall see what we get."

That comment about "Abu Dhabi magic" evokes memories of a past race where championship fate was turned upside down by pitwall miscalculations.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, who was involved in that agonising race in 2010, has emphasised to his team how strong their year has been and that "setbacks are inevitable".

As Verstappen summarised: "A lot can go well for you, can go against you, and we discover tomorrow."

There is also the potential of contact at the opening turn – a scenario Piastri and Verstappen were involved in there last year.

Norris, in his position, has the luxury of being able to be conservative at the start.

Piastri, when asked about action at Turn One, remarked: "I'm uncertain about the first corner," he said, "{but I'll have some handy."

He was also queried what he had discovered about title deciders. His reply was succinct: "Unexpected events can happen. That's what I've learned."

Norris 'Carries the Burden on His Shoulders'

For each contender, and their teams, the tension will build in the hours before the race.

Even Verstappen, who has appeared utterly relaxed so far, admitted to some anxiety before qualifying, but said that he used them to enhance his performance.

Commentator and former champion Damon Hill, offering from experience, highlighted the importance of calmness.

"The way through this is to just concentrate on what you do for a living," Hill said. "You speak to the engineers and try to make the car go faster... When you have things on your mind, you can't concentrate."

"It's like when you lie down in bed at night, there's that gap before you go to sleep? You try sleeping when you might become world champion or not. Rest is essential."

"It's intense. It's what you've always wanted. Lando carries a burden on his shoulders... on Sunday he'll know whether he has crossed that threshold and joined that exclusive club of world champions."

The stage is prepared. The protagonists are lined up. The Formula 1 world championship will be settled under the lights of Abu Dhabi.