WE DID IT

“We did it, World Champion!” Lando Norris Claims His First Formula 1 Title in Abu Dhabi

Lando Norris is the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion. The McLaren driver secured his first career title at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, where he arrived with a 12-point lead over four-time World Champion Max Verstappen. To claim the championship, Norris needed a top- three finish — and he managed to secure it.

For McLaren, this marks a return to the top after many years. The team last won the Drivers’ Championship in 2008 with Lewis Hamilton. A double success — in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships — had not been achieved since 1998.

The Abu Dhabi finale promised tension until the very end — and it delivered. Right up to the final laps, it remained unclear who would become as World Champion.

Norris started the 2025 season strongly, winning in Australia and leading the championship for the first time in his career. But in Canada, he made a mistake in qualifying and contact with Piastri in the race sent him into the wall.

In the Netherlands, a technical issue stopped him from finishing. Had it not been for the situation in Zandvoort, the title fight could have been decided much earlier. Instead, Verstappen returned to the fight with a series of strong results. In Las Vegas, Norris delivered an excellent result, but McLaren was later disqualified. Qatar could have been decisive too, but Norris finished only fourth. And so, everything was left to be decided in Abu Dhabi.

"It' s been an amazing season and one I am very proud of” Oscar Piastri

On Friday, Norris topped the timing sheets during free practice. On Saturday afternoon, George Russell set the fastest lap, but when it mattered most in qualifying, it was Verstappen who took pole position.

Throughout the entire race weekend, Verstappen looked calm and confident, openly stating that he had nothing to lose. Meanwhile, Piastri and Norris tried to hide the mounting pressure surrounding the title fight.

During Saturday’s press conference, the drivers shared their expectations for the race:

Verstappen: “We'll find out tomorrow, won't we? Let's see what we can do. Of course, I'll try to win the race, but also in the back of my mind, we want to try and score a lot of points to still try and win that championship. So, we need a bit of luck from what is happening behind us.

All out. I have nothing to lose. So for me, of course, I’m going to try to win the race. I’m going to defend. If I need to attack, I’ll attack, because what can happen? You’re either second or third – or you win. That would be fantastic.”

Norris: “Max did a good job, so congrats to him. We did everything we could. I think my lap was pretty good. I was pretty happy. So yeah, of course disappointed to not be on pole for the final weekend, but we were just not running fast enough today. So, we'll have to try do it tomorrow.”

Piastri: “We'll find out tomorrow. I think Max has looked very quick in the long runs this weekend and clearly very quick over one lap. But yeah, let's see how much pace is a factor tomorrow.”

Strategy was expected to play a decisive role in the race. Ahead of Sunday, Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal, shared his view with the media:

“I think we have seen in practise that the level of degradation and draining was above expectation. In a race, a shout out to our strategy team that said let's save the hard tyres, which is what we did. I think there's perhaps another couple of cars that saved, or not even, the hard tyres, which in a race where you have this level of draining and degradation could be a good strategic option.”

“In terms of the behaviour of the tyres improving in the race, I don't think this year we have seen much of an improvement of the draining behaviour because of the track rubber in. These sort of behaviours, I don't think they manifested themselves anymore, at least at this moment in time, of the technical regulation and of the tyres that we have available. In terms of how the race will unfold, there may be reasons to control the pace, even from a tyre point of view, not necessarily because of some strategic reason for the lead car.

So definitely we will see some pace control, and it will be interesting to see whether the tyre degradation means that the race will be more of a one or a two stop. I think this is a bit of an open question.”

Track position has always mattered in Abu Dhabi, and once again it proved to be a key factor. Verstappen made full use of his pole position, defending the lead into the first corner. The start of the race delivered plenty of movement behind him: Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc moved ahead of Russell, while Piastri passed Norris. Later, as Norris passed Liam Lawson, then began to close to Yuki Tsunoda who defended hard, weaving across the track, but Norris eventually found a way

through under braking.

Verstappen went on to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, securing his eighth victory of the season and the 71st of his career. Piastri finished second, while Norris crossed the line in third, and it was enough to claim the title.

Norris: “We did it, World Champion! This is for everyone that's been there for me on this journey. For my family, for my team, and for everyone at McLaren.

“It' s been a tough season, Oscar and Max are incredible competitors and have

done an incredible job all year. It's been a privilege to get to race them this year, congratulations to them on their amazing seasons.

“I'm so proud, not because I'm World Champion, but because of everything those around me have given up to make this possible. Making them happy and rewarding their sacrifices and hard work is what makes me proud.”

Piastri: "Congratulations to Lando on the Championship win, it was great to battle with him all the way to the end, and it's a lovely moment for the team. It was a really strong race to finish out this year, we took a risk on strategy, and it paid off, but we just didn't have an answer to Max.

"It's been an amazing season and one I am very proud of. We 'll take everything we've learnt and head into 2026 as the strongest driver I' ve ever been. I am excited to see what we can achieve next year."

Stella: “Today, we celebrate an extraordinary achievement for the entire McLaren Racing family. The main feeling is that we are incredibly proud to take home a maiden 2025 FIA Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship for Lando. This is a fantastic end to

what has been a hard-fought season, one that has tested and brought out the best in everyoneacross the team.

“While only one driver can take the Drivers’ Championship title each season, to be in a situation where both Lando and Oscar were challenging at the sharp end against a four-time World Champion in Max Verstappen, was always an ambition and not a problem.” ❙❘

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