For F1 as a sport, if not for McLaren, it was a largely perfect result.
This is the first title decider between more than two drivers since 2010. The pressure is intense, and the excitement will match it.
When Norris was asked on Sunday how he would approach the final race and what could be his first F1 championship title, he was eager to play it all out.
“It’s the same as every weekend,” he said. “I try and beat them, they try and beat me. It’s no different. I just want to go to bed.”
Piastri was trying to keep in perspective his disappointment of losing the win after a strong weekend, which came in the wake of a series of tough races that saw him lose what looked like a championship-winning 34-point lead in late August.
“It’s certainly not a disaster,” he said. “We made the wrong decision today. It’s clear, but it’s not like the world has ended.
“So, obviously, it hurts right now, but things will get better with time. There have been a lot of tough moments – this year, last season together – and I think you always get stronger through some of these moments.
“But it all depends on how you deal with it. So I’m sure we’ll deal with it. But, yes, obviously, at the moment, it hurts.”
Verstappen, going for his fifth consecutive title, is simply enjoying being in a position to win a title that he has spent most of the year thinking was out of his reach.
“I know I’m down 12 points. I just go out there with positive energy,” he said. I try everything possible.
“But at the same time, even if I don’t win it, I know I had an amazing season. So, it doesn’t really matter. It takes a lot of pressure off. I’m just having a good time out there like I had today.”
It is at McLaren where the handshake will be most intense. And their boss knows what’s at stake.
Stella has been here before. He cited two years where the third-place driver won the title in this type of scenario. He was involved in both.
In 2007, Stella was Kimi Räikkönen’s race engineer at Ferrari when the Finn overcame a huge points gap in the final two races to defeat McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Alonso.
In 2010, he was engineering Alonso when Ferrari made a mess in Abu Dhabi.
Stella also worked with Michael Schumacher, beginning in 2000 when he scored the first of five consecutive drivers’ championship wins – but only after the German had painfully lost three the previous season.
“Racing is hard,” Stella said. “Racing can give you tough lessons, but this is the history of champions. I worked with Michael Schumacher. We won many titles together.
“Now we all think about titles, but after Vegas I was thinking how much pain Michael had to endure when he started his experience at Ferrari.
“It’s just the history of Formula 1. It’s the true nature of racing.
“We are disappointed, but as we begin the review, we will be even more determined to learn from our lessons, adapt and come back stronger as a team.
“And make sure that this unprecedented, beautiful opportunity that we have to compete for the drivers’ championship and really stop Verstappen’s dominance in this period of Formula 1, we want to face it as best we can.”
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