There are also few strategic options due to a unique aspect of this race.
Lusail’s many long, medium and high speed corners put a lot of strain on the tyres, and the sharp curbs make things worse.
Tire supplier Pirelli, fearing punctures, has imposed a mandatory maximum of 25 laps on any set of tyres, making the race a strategy of at least two pit stops.
However, there are many dangers. Both Piastri and Mercedes’ George Russell, who was second in the sprint and qualified fourth for the grand prix, suffered tears to their front tires before the end of the 19-lap sprint.
For Piastri, this race marked a timely return to form after a difficult stretch of racing during the fall.
He looked like a champion-elect when his victory in the Dutch Grand Prix, plus Norris’ retirement due to a fuel pipe failure, gave Piastri a 34-point lead in the championship. Until then he had been the most convincing McLaren driver this season.
But Piastri has been on the podium only once since then, in the next race, and a series of grands prix in which he made mistakes and lacked pace has allowed Norris to wrest control of the title race from him.
For Piastri, as for Verstappen, only a victory will be enough tomorrow. Or at least they need to beat Norris.
Piastri said: “I’ve been in the same situation all weekend and so far it’s been going well.
“So I think I’ve gained a lot of confidence that when things are in the right place and when I’m in the rhythm, things can happen without needing to do anything special.
“So I’m sure we can try to do the same thing tomorrow. And (I’m) ready for the fight.”
However, as all three pointed out, a lot can happen in the 200 miles of a grand prix.
Other cars can cause problems. There may be safety cars, incidents, withdrawals.
Tire restrictions mean the race will likely be full speed from start to finish, or as close as possible. That’s why mistakes are more likely to be made.
Even though the occasional grand prix can be soporific, and despite what many drivers expect it to be, a race can go wrong in many more ways than it can go right.
Verstappen, who is competing for his fifth world title while the McLaren drivers seek their first, knows this very well.
“You never know what happens in a race,” he said. “We have two stops and also some things are not under your control, right?
“There may also be some crazy things happening behind you, so you just need to keep everything open.
“We will do everything we can, we will try to have a good start, then we will try to take care of our tires a little better because the understeer that we have in the car normally is not good at race pace either because of that, but we will try to minimize the damage.”
As for how to relax before the day he achieves his life’s ambition, Norris said he would try to relax in his hotel room on Saturday night.
“Play basketball in my room. Real basketball. I’m going to go home, eat spaghetti bolognese, play Counter-Strike, probably lose some Elo (ratings) and then go to bed.”
Other than that, he said, he will try to stay away from the media, “go see my engineers, do some work, prepare as best I can. See what opportunities may arise.”
There someone is waiting for the biggest prize in motorsports. Who will catch it?
