The Crown is His: Lando Norris, Formula One's Newest Champion
In a thrilling finale to the 2025 Formula One season, Lando Norris emerged as the world champion, claiming his first title in a dramatic battle that went down to the wire. But here's where it gets controversial...
Norris, the British driver, achieved this feat by finishing third in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a race that saw him manage his tires and position with precision under the Yas Marina floodlights. While Max Verstappen won the race, he fell just two points short of securing his fifth consecutive championship, leaving the title in Norris' hands.
Oscar Piastri, who took a bold gamble on hard tires, also came up just shy, finishing second in Abu Dhabi and third overall in the championship.
At 26 years old, Norris becomes Britain's first world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2020. Piastri's audacious move on the opening lap and a late surge from Charles Leclerc added to the drama, but Norris delivered the performance of a lifetime to seal the remarkable championship season.
Verstappen, the four-time champion, won his eighth race of 2025, one more than Norris. He took control from pole position on Sunday, leading by nearly 14 seconds at the checkered flag, but his dominance was not enough to prevent Norris from running a measured race and claiming the title.
This championship marks a historic moment for McLaren, as they secure their first drivers' title since Hamilton's win with the team in 2008. It completes a double victory, having already secured the constructors' championship earlier in the season.
Madeline Coleman, Alex Kalinauckas, and Luke Smith were on the ground at the Yas Marina Circuit to analyze this historic race.
Norris' Triumph: Overcoming the Final Hurdles
After qualifying on Saturday, Norris anticipated a challenging race, and he was right. While there were no major incidents, he navigated the final obstacles of F1 2025 with ease. Starting from second on the grid, Norris' biggest challenge was always going to be the start and avoiding any collision with Verstappen, who immediately defended his position at Turn 1. Norris kept his cool and maintained his position, but Piastri's bold move around the outside at Turn 9 put pressure on Norris from Leclerc, who stayed within DRS range in his Ferrari.
Norris managed to create a gap before becoming the first of the title contenders to pit on Lap 15. Emerging at the back of a four-car train, he faced the threat of traffic, but his precision driving saw him pick off Kimi Antonelli, sail past Carlos Sainz, and then dive past both Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson in the same corner on the next lap. It was a perfect display of attacking prowess.
As Verstappen's teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, weaved his way through the field, it caught the attention of race control, as the McLaren flirted with going off-track to make the move. Norris' race engineer described it as "classic Red Bull s–housery." The stewards penalized Tsunoda for moving more than once, but took no action against Norris.
With clear track ahead, Norris was told not to worry about Verstappen, as the gap to the Red Bull remained stable while Piastri extended his stint at the front. McLaren brought Norris in for a second stop to cover off Leclerc, who had already pitted, and got him back out in clean air. The extra stop also created some breathing room for Verstappen out front, in case any tactics were employed to slow the field.
Leclerc posed the final threat to Norris, taking a set of mediums and closing the gap slightly. But each time, Norris responded, holding the gap steady. This was a fact that Verstappen's engineer made him aware of over the radio, updating him on the title picture.
As Norris ticked off the final laps, he received updates on potential safety car strategy changes, but faced no pressure from behind or in front. After a long and challenging season, he secured the world championship by two points.
Verstappen's Victory, Norris' Title
Lining up on the grid, Verstappen's nose pointed deliberately towards Norris on the other side of the front row. He needed to execute his trademark move, a chop across the McLaren's bows, as they raced to the first corner after a short hold at the lights.
When Norris took the outside line, Verstappen was clear, swiftly out of DRS threat. McLaren insisted that Verstappen's starting mediums were graining, but every time it looked like Piastri was gaining ground, the leader responded.
Verstappen pitted on Lap 23 but emerged clear of traffic, with an even healthier gap to Norris behind. He set about using the better performance on the hards to erase the 18.8-second gap to Piastri. He easily passed the McLaren with DRS to Turn 5 on Lap 41.
Red Bull warned Verstappen that Piastri would need to be incredibly fast to catch up on the mediums, and Verstappen responded with his own fine pace, consistently lapping in the high 1:27-second bracket.
With Norris in third, Verstappen needed assistance from Leclerc, which never materialized. Verstappen remains on four world championships as F1 enters its new car design era next season. Despite the pre-race focus on Verstappen's tactics, the race for the win played out calmly and without drama.
Piastri's Classy Performance
Piastri's performance was a fitting end to his season. The pressure of his first F1 title fight, as the rank outsider against Norris and Verstappen, didn't faze the 24-year-old Australian. He comfortably swept around his teammate on the opening lap, despite the split strategies, and kept enough pressure on Verstappen in the early stages to prevent Red Bull from going too deep into the race before pitting.
Piastri assumed the lead on Lap 23 when Verstappen pitted, and was kept out long, with his times eventually dipping to over a second per lap slower than Verstappen's. Verstappen overtook to regain the lead with 18 laps to go, prompting McLaren to bring in Piastri and keep him in second after Norris' second stop.
Piastri's race engineer, Tom Stallard, gave him the call to hunt down Verstappen with his fresh set of medium compound tires. Making up 1.5 seconds per lap was a tall order, but there was a chance to put pressure on the Red Bull driver, especially as Piastri started to set purple sectors.
Piastri's presence put Verstappen in a tough spot: if he tried to slow the field, Piastri would likely sweep past him. For one final time in 2025, Piastri showed his team spirit.
While he didn't win the world championship, this season has solidified Piastri's place among the very best drivers on the F1 grid.
Hamilton's Season Ends Without a Podium
What a difference a day can make. Although he qualified fifth, Leclerc described his car's handling as so bad that he felt like he was rally driving, snapping sideways frequently. In the other Ferrari, Hamilton exited at Q1 for the fourth time in a row.
But on race day, Leclerc was on fire, jumping ahead of George Russell at the start and then closely tracking Norris once he dropped to third. It was eerily similar to last year, when Sainz, still a Ferrari driver, chased Norris all the way to the finish, racing for the win.
Leclerc used DRS to stick close to Norris in the early stages, then dropped back slightly as their starting mediums grained. He also carved through the traffic post-pitstop on the hards, mirroring Norris' double move on Stroll and Lawson to Turn 5.
Hamilton finished eighth in Abu Dhabi. Leclerc unleashed a strong pace, and if Norris had been penalized for the Tsunoda incident, he might have spoiled Norris' championship celebration. However, the stewards cleared Norris, and Leclerc then dropped back before making his second stop.
He spent some time behind Russell but blasted back to retake fourth, showing strong pace in Norris' wake, but couldn't get any closer.
Fourth place is not what Ferrari aims for, and neither is eighth. Hamilton deserves credit for starting in 16th and employing an attacking two-stop strategy, including starting on hard tires and passing one-stopping midfielders. But he couldn't climb higher, so his first Ferrari season ended without a podium finish.
Williams Shines as Sainz Proves His Worth
With the final checkered flag, the current regulation set comes to an end (aside from post-season testing, of course). This era will go down in history, but the best season was the last.
This year featured some of the closest racing we've seen in modern times, with results generating excitement beyond the three-way title fight. Mercedes, second in the constructors' championship, was more consistent, with Russell in fifth in the drivers' standings and stepping into a leadership role. Nineteen-year-old rookie Antonelli found his stride after a midseason slump to finish seventh.
Williams finished fifth in the title race. Sainz, who was ninth in the drivers' standings, eventually found his rhythm, with teammate Alex Albon nine points ahead in eighth.
The midfield was much tighter. Surprise podium finishes during the season by Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls and Nico Hülkenberg of Sauber gave their teams an advantage, but Sauber ended the season ninth, nine points behind Haas.
Now, the slate is wiped clean. The long-awaited 2026 regulations are on the horizon, and the new cars, fitted with new engines and sustainable fuels, will hit the track in Barcelona in 50 days. While the sport will still be recognizable, F1 will look different, particularly in overtaking.
There's still a gap between the top four teams and the midfield, but unlike in previous years of this era, those teams had a shot at points and podiums as the field converged. Seven teams appeared on the podium across the 2025 season, including three midfield teams.
Now, we turn the page to the next chapter.
