The shadow of Lewis Hamilton is falling over the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and questions are rising: could Oscar Piastri use a controversial tactic to win the championship?
The final race of the 2025 season risks turning into a psychological thriller worthy of Formula 1’s most controversial finales. According to David Croft of Sky Sports F1, Oscar Piastri might resort to a strategy seen only in the most extreme moments—a tactic made famous by Lewis Hamilton back in 2016.
At that time, during the duel with Nico Rosberg in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton deliberately slowed his pace in the final sector of the track to push his teammate into the sights of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. It was his only hope of overturning a title that seemed out of reach. It didn’t work, but it became one of the most debated episodes of the modern era. Now, that same strategy could come into play for Oscar Piastri.
What the standings say
The championship math is clear: Lando Norris arrives in Abu Dhabi with a 12-point lead over Max Verstappen, while Oscar Piastri sits 16 points behind his teammate. The combinations for the title are straightforward:
- Norris becomes champion with a P3 finish, even if Piastri or Verstappen win;
- Verstappen must win and hope Norris finishes no higher than fourth;
- Piastri has only one realistic chance: win the race and hope Norris finishes sixth or lower.
A complicated scenario… unless the Hamilton tactic is applied.
David Croft’s vision
David Croft paints a very clear picture: if Oscar Piastri starts at the front, he could manage the pace by slowing the race at key points of the track, creating a train behind him and putting Norris under pressure. David Croft doesn’t just see it as possible—he even calls it “absolutely acceptable.”
He explained: “Oscar made it clear to me: ‘I’ll play for the team. I’ll need it in the future, and this is a team sport.’” He added, “I can imagine Oscar winning the race and creating a scenario similar to Hamilton-Rosberg 2016, slowing down a bit and putting Lando into traffic.”
Should Croft’s prediction play out, Sunday’s grand prix wouldn’t just be a straight-line sprint between three hungry champions – it could devolve into a high-stakes game of chess, with Lewis Hamilton’s spectral influence weaving through every calculated brake and every whispered team radio message. For neutral fans craving pure racing drama, Yas Marina suddenly feels like the ultimate pressure cooker, where one driver’s shadow from the past might just rewrite the future of the sport.
Leave a Reply