I used to see the F1 off-season as a time when I was craving more, wishing the time away until the next race. I now see it as a burnout recovery time. Seasons are longer than they reasonably need to be. There's currently only 79 days until FP1 in Australia. The season ended 9 days ago 🫩

"Great news team! The intellectual property search came back and it looks like we're going to be able to use our first choice name..."

Helmut Marko will leave Red Bull after 20 years advising their Formula 1 teams.

I think that's it from me here. An exceptional F1 championship overall with 3 drivers really giving it their all. Can I say all 3 of them would've been deserving? I think so. I hope the 2026 rule changes throw a curveball, but also that the pack is kept as tight on one-lap pace 🤞🏼 #AbuDhabiGP #TYVM

Max is an insane competitor though isn't he? 2 points behind, 8 wins. He hates to lose but he always seems to be down to earth about it out of the car these days. He's like the final boss of Formula 1 😂 Very gracious & sportsmanlike behaviour from him & Oscar, who will no doubt be gutted today.

After 31 season finales for me, they aren't all exciting, but not all of them even go to the final round. Certainly not all of them have 3 possible winners. Marathon not a sprint. Max came so close. He almost did the impossible. But Lando Norris is the 2025 World Drivers Champion!! #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

I don't think my nerves could take talk of a safety car right now. Where's King Latifi I wonder 🤔 #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

Looks like it's not going to be the showdown we expected between the long-running Piastri and Verstappen. Leclerc isn't making the necessary progress into Norris, although it looked like he might be a risk earlier on. #GP #AbuDhabiGP

As somebody who tries to remain impartial, I think they should've said Tsunoda/Norris cancelled each other out & be done with it. Yuki clearly acted in a unique & somewhat erratic way when you compare the comparative Leclerc/Russell passes, but Norris was committed to the move. #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

FWIW I only see McLaren being able to control any pace related games by sending Oscar after Max to scrap for the position ahead of the other that they need. It's a little risky for Norris, but it'd work I think. #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

So are we ready? I don't feel ready 😄 #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

Now she's asked me to, "Pop the Prosecco in the fridge in case Max wins the title." Me:

The great news for tomorrow is that with 3 possible champions in waiting, any of them risking a collision with another just helps whoever the "other" guy is at that time. It's likely to be a hard but fair finish to the season. Watch that bite me in the ass. #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

Couldn't have had a more breathless Q3 finish with the top 5 all improving. Max Verstappen takes pole for the final race ahead of Lando Norris. Piastri in 3rd will need to beat both of them to have any hope of a first WDC. RUS, LEC, ALO, BOR, OCO, HAD, TSU the rest of the top 10. #F1 #AbuDhabi

Max Verstappen doesn't feel pressure does he? A fresh soft lap with a rare Yuki Q3 slipstream when it matters the most. Piastri and Norris trail by 0.327 and 0.456 respectively. Russell somehow avoiding the barriers with a huge correction too, otherwise he'll be right in that mix. #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

Don't forget that Kimi Antonelli is only 2 points behind Lewis Hamilton, the man he replaced at Mercedes. Neither have made the top 10 in qualifying but would we bet against an 8th place being possible for Kimi tomorrow? 😬 #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

Oh good, Tsunoda finding a Q3 appearance in his last Grand Prix for Red Bull. Where's that been hiding?? Ocon remarkably making Q3 when all the talk has been about his team mate. Bearman, Sainz, Lawson, Antonelli, Stroll out. #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

Hamilton going out in Q1 has almost become an inevitability with three consecutive exits to finish a miserable season with Ferrari. Crashing in FP3 wouldn't have helped with car balance or confidence to push 🤷🏼 Albon, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Colapinto out along with him. #F1 #AbuDhabi

The great thing about the field being so close is that there's probably no such thing as a cruise to an easy top 3 for Lando Norris. All 3 of the championship contenders will have to be on their A-game 🤞🏼 #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

FP3 is too early for me at 3.30am but you betcha I'll be back for qualifying and Sunday's race as we bid farewell to Formula 1 in 2025. Can Lando Norris capitalise on his strong FP1 & 2 performances and repeat last year's pole & race win? All will be revealed. #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

So I said there was no way I'd be waking up to watch FP1 at 2am, even for the grandstand finale of the #F1 season. I just randomly woke up right on the hour. So will I be watching now? No. Goodnight everybody 👋🏼😂 #AbuDhabiGP

I have thoughts about the potential destruction of a young driver's promising career. Isack Hadjar has been magnificent this season, but is the "promotion" right for him? You'd guess Red Bull & RB have appropriate data, but unless his driving style matches Max, it's gonna be another disappointment.

It tells us that every Formula One season is a marathon, not a sprint. Who would've thought Alain Prost was on to something when they dubbed him The Professor? 🧐

Our society rewards dangerous rhetoric with political power, sociopathic greed with wealth, and vacuous content with attention. Kimi Antonelli made a minor error driving an F1 car to its maximum in the name of sports & entertainment. If that one was a problem for you to handle, urgently seek help.

Piastri rightfully annoyed, Norris likely feels the same. Max Verstappen does the most Max Verstappen thing possible and capitalises on a McLaren gaffe of epic proportions to take this down to a 3-way Abu Dhabi showdown! Carlos Sainz takes another deserved podium. You love to see it. #F1 #QatarGP

For all the McLaren team errors in the last 2 races screwing both of their drivers, we have to ask: When maximum attack is required, why are they even racing at this track, or why won't Pirelli accommodate it? We can't have teams feeling they can't put the soft compound on???! #F1 #QatarGP

It's business time as Piastri & Norris take their final stops for hard tyres. Piastri could get something, Lando is gonna have to overtake Sainz AND Antonelli just for damage limitation alone. #F1 #QatarGP

Stroll absolutely FLYING with a faster speed trap time than anybody else. That speed trap was in the pitlane unfortunately for him though, so he'll have to serve a penalty at his next stop 🤦🏻‍♂️ #F1 #QatarGP

I'm only an armchair strategist, but I'm struggling to see how McLaren dig themselves out of this without another safety car. Preferably (for them) the lap after everybody else has already taken their scheduled stops. I'm now spying another Sainz podium 🧐 #F1 #QatarGP

A Max Verstappen with nothing to lose, an outrageously short wait time for the lights to go out, Lando Norris race starts. Everybody's where they need to be to keep the championship alive into Abu Dhabi. Let the parade begin... #F1 #QatarGP

That drone formation tho 😍 #F1 #QatarGP

George Russell qualified in 4th for tomorrow's Grand Prix. He's finished every race except Monaco in the points, dominated his rookie teammate in qualifying, and trails only 95 points behind Lando Norris with 50 up for grabs. And nobody seems to give the slightest solitary shit 😄 #F1 #QatarGP

Piastri gets an excellent pole ahead of Norris & Verstappen. It's almost everything the Championship needed, although Max in 1st/2nd would've been even better overall. Hadjar, Sainz, Alonso, Gasly in 6th-9th are all performing at a high level right now & are deserving of the reward. #F1 #QatarGP

HUL LAW BEA BOR ALB out in Q2. Piastri seemed to get a worldie out of nowhere and was back on Norris' pace +0.2s on his next run. It means Q3 will probably be pretty close here. Pole may well win if the sprint was anything to go by. Worth a do-or-die lap for Norris perhaps? #F1 #QatarGP

Ferrari/Hamilton pain continues, Tsunoda resumes normal service after his impressive sprint qualifying. Ocon, Stroll, and Colapinto occupy the rest of the bottom five. Bye to those guys as we move on to Q2. #F1 #QatarGP

Let it be said, in the penultimate race weekend of the season, with a 3 way fight to be World Champion... Another sprint race just occurred. #F1 #QatarGP

Me 5 minutes before the Sprint 😴 Me at the start of the Sprint 🫩 Me from lap 2 to 19 😴 PIA, RUS, NOR, VER, TSU, ANT, ALO, SAI #F1 #QatarGP

Yuki Tsunoda's reward for outqualifying Max Verstappen will be to immediately give his position to Max Verstappen tomorrow 🫠 #F1 #QatarGP

Great laps from Tsunoda, Alonso, Russell, then Piastri who takes Sprint Pole!! PIA, RUS, NOR, ALO, TSU, VER, ANT, SAI, LEC, ALB is the top 10. Beautifully mixed up, but Verstappen will be looking to not repeat his frustration in tomorrow's sessions. #F1 #QatarGP

The top 3 in SQ2 are the championship top 3 in order. All to plan so far then. Hadjar, Bearman, Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Ocon won't be taking part in SQ3. #F1 #QatarGP

Well, Hamilton did say he wasn't "looking forward to next week" I guess. Really sad to see the 7xWDC like this with Colapinto, Gasly, Lawson and Stroll going out with him. Mighty laps from Hulk & Alonso, and when did Red Bull give Yuki the same spec as Max?! 🤭 #F1 #QatarGP

I'm from the F1 old-school but rather than gatekeeping, I'll just irritate you by saying the result that's best for racing in any scenario is king. That would be the 3 way title battle being alive going into Abu Dhabi, thanks please thanks ok 🥳 #QatarGP

Adrian Newey as Aston Martin Team Principle feels so bizarre. He's a softly-spoken technical genius, so I don't doubt he can whip the team into shape, but are they gonna hire a Zak Brown-esque hype man for media duty? #F1 #AstonMartin

Wonderful session! Norris taking a last gasp pole despite having a huge chunk of opposite lock towards the end that sees him miss the wall. He's locked in! Verstappen, Sainz, Russell, Piastri, Lawson, Alonso, Hadjar, Leclerc, Gasly the rest of the top 10. #F1 #LasVegasGP

When they announced a 3rd race in the USA, at a temporary Vegas street circuit, I must admit I wasn't enthusiastic. If they'd told us in advance it'd be a joker race with the dry & wet grip of a Mario Kart banana skin, then yes, it'd be the most anticipated race of the season 😆 #F1 #LasVegasGP

Colapinto, Bearman, Ocon, Stroll, Hulkenberg out in Q2. Great performances from Sainz, Alonso, Lawson, Hadjar and Gasly to make the top 10 and be in with a shout of pole let's face it. #F1 #LaaVegasGP

Alpine have the confirmed slowest car according to the AWS stats. 4th & 11th for GAS & COL in Q1. They call rain the great leveller, after all. Yet Tsunoda still couldn't get out of Q1 😩 #F1 #LasVegasGP

Albon being the only major casualty with a broken suspension in that session was a little surprising to say the least. Bearman throwing his hands up as a lock-up sent him head on into the run off barriers, but he got it going again & will continue into Q2 #F1 #LasVegasGP

Hamilton, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Antonelli, Albon out in an extremely damp qualifying where seconds were falling away from the laptimes throughout. Norris went from 3rd to 13th there, so we'll certainly see more thrills & spills in this session yet. #F1 #LasVegasGP

With all this "track maintenance" fiasco to finish FP2, I was going to mention that time 2 years ago when FP1 was aborted for almost 3 hours because Carlos Sainz sucked one off at 200mph... #F1 #LasVegasGP