New Delhi: It was the ultimate curtain closing to all the drama we have in the 2025 season of F1, as Max Verstappen took his win in a row to wrap up his season. However, it wasn’t enough to stop McLaren’s Lando Norris from taking the Driver’s championship as the British driver finished on the podium to take his first Driver’s championship ever. He joins an elite list of McLaren drivers who have won the championship before him, which includes Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, and Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen had secured the pole on Saturday to ensure that he was ahead of Norris and Oscar Piastri. All three were in contention for the championship title, but it was Verstappen and Norris who had the best shot at it. The best bet for Verstappen was for Norris to finish fourth. The McLaren driver managed his tyres and track position in the final laps.

Oscar Piastri took second place in the race but ended the season third overall. Norris, 26, becomes the first British world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2020.

Mission accomplished 👊#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/uiinMZHKrz

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2025

Lando Norris cool as a cucumber when it mattered.

Starting second, Norris’s first priority was a clean start, which he achieved by calmly avoiding Verstappen’s aggressive defence into Turn 1. However, his teammate Piastri immediately put pressure on him by taking second place at Turn 9, leaving Norris vulnerable to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who stayed close within DRS range throughout the opening phase of the race.

Norris showed his strategic control by creating a small gap before being the first title contender to pit on Lap 15. 

Although he emerged into heavy traffic, being left behind four cars, he turned this obstacle into an opportunity. He was flawless when it came to attacking driving. Norris rapidly cleared the group first, passing Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz. Then his best move came when, on the following lap, he dove past both Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson at the same corner. His decisive action in traffic perfectly illustrated the control he maintained over the crucial race.

Norris’s drive through traffic was temporarily complicated by Red Bull’s second driver, Yuki Tsunoda, who employed heavy weaving to try and hold the McLaren back. This aggressive defensive move nearly forced Norris off the track and immediately caught the attention of race control. 

The stewards penalised Tsunoda for multiple defensive movements while clearing Norris of any wrongdoing.

Once clear of the deliberate traffic, Norris was advised to focus on his own pace, as the gap to the leading Verstappen remained constant. Meanwhile, his teammate, Piastri, extended his opening stint at the front. McLaren then strategically brought Norris in for a second pit stop to ensure he stayed ahead of Leclerc, who had already pitted.

This stop allowed Norris to emerge into clean air. Furthermore, the pit stop provided an added benefit by increasing the distance between Norris and the leading Verstappen, thus minimising the risk of Red Bull using any tactical manoeuvres to slow the field and compromise Norris’s race position. Leclerc posed the final minor threat, utilising fresh medium tyres to briefly close the gap to Norris. However, the McLaren driver consistently responded, maintaining a steady and safe distance. 

With the win, McLaren have secured both the Driver’s championship and the constructor’s championship, which they secured at the end of the Singapore race. Norris is also the first driver since Hamilton to take the title for McLaren.

Max Verstappen’s best foot forward just was not enough

Starting from pole, Verstappen immediately drove defensively, deliberately pointing his car towards Norris on the grid and executing his typical chop across the front of the McLaren into Turn 1. Once Norris yielded to the outside, Verstappen was clear and quickly pulled out of DRS range. 

Although McLaren believed Verstappen’s starting medium tyres would degrade faster than theirs, Verstappen defended well against any pressure applied by the chasing Piastri, who kept the gap at a maximum of 2.2 seconds during the initial phase. Verstappen pitted on Lap 23, emerging into clear track with an even larger lead over Norris.

He then used the superior pace of the Hard tyres to erase the 18.8-second gap that Oscar Piastri had built during his extended stint. Verstappen easily passed the McLaren for the lead using DRS into Turn 5 on Lap 41, sealing his commanding race victory.

For the rest of the pack, it was Leclerc who was impressive and looked close to spoiling the Norris party with a constant threat. He, with ease, had gone past Mercedes driver George Russell, who for most part of the race maintained a steady pace but just didn’t look threatening enough. Fernando Alonso finished sixth, which is a solid end to the season for the Spanish driver, followed by Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, too, showed decent pace throughout the race, and it felt like he ended the season on a high after what had been a dismal season for the Ferrari driver. Joining the team at the end of last season, Hamilton didn’t have a great season with the car.

Driver’s championship final standing 2025

Constructor’s championship final standing 2025