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The climax to the Formula 1 drivers' title could hardly be better set up after the triple championship challengers qualified together at the sharp end of the grid for Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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

McLaren's Lando Norris, who heads into the race as title leader with a 12-point lead over Verstappen, is alongside the Dutchman on the first row.

The British driver's team-mate Oscar Piastri, 16 points off the summit, starts third, alongside the Mercedes of George Russell on the row two.

The Simple Maths for The Leader

For Norris, the maths are simple – and the task looks the same.

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

Verstappen, 28, could secure a fifth straight title if he wins the race with Norris finishing fourth, or if he is second and Norris is lower than seventh.

Australian Piastri, 24, needs some form of drama to happen to his competitors if he is to win his first title. He will also head into the race knowing that there is a chance he might be instructed to yield position and help Norris secure the title if his own chances have faded.

What Cards Will Verstappen Play?

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

This is logical. Even though his path to the title 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 unlikely to be simple. What Verstappen and Red Bull might try to disrupt Norris's race is an open question.

"No idea," Norris said, when asked whether he expected Verstappen to try to slow him into the pack. "Anything is possible. So we'll find out."

Verstappen faced the identical query. His response was to point out that such tactics are more difficult to execute now, since track modifications have made it more flowing.

"It was a different layout," Verstappen said. "I feel like now you get towed around a lot more. So it's not as easy to do that."

He added: "My goal is victory on Sunday, but I also know that victory alone is insufficient. So I just hope for some Abu Dhabi magic that happens behind me. So let's see what we get."

That remark about "Abu Dhabi magic" is clearly a reference to a historic race where championship fate was completely reversed by strategy errors.

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

As Verstappen put it: "Many things can go well for you, can work against you, and we find out tomorrow."

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

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

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

He was also asked what he had learned about title showdowns. His answer was succinct: "Funny things can happen. That's what I've learnt."

Norris 'Carries the Burden on His Shoulders'

For all three, and their teams, the pressure will build in the hours before the race.

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

Commentator and ex-title winner Damon Hill, offering from experience, emphasised the importance of composure.

"How to handle 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... Once you have things rattling around your head, 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."

"The pressure is immense. It's what you've always wanted. Lando has a weight on his shoulders... on Sunday he'll know whether he has made it and joined that elite group of title winners."

The scene is prepared. The protagonists are in position. The Formula 1 world championship will be settled under the floodlights of Abu Dhabi.