Lando Norris crowned F1 world champion at Abu Dhabi finale despite Max Verstappen win
On Sunday, December 7, at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lando Norris made history.
By finishing third behind Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, Norris secured his first-ever Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship - a title he clinched by a bare two-point margin.
A title decided under the Yas Marina lights
The race was tense from the start.
Norris began from second on the grid, with Verstappen on pole and Piastri alongside him. On the opening lap, Piastri surged past Norris for second place, pushing him to third.
Throughout the night at the Yas Marina circuit, Norris endured pressure - from traffic, mid-race pit stops and challenges from rivals - but held firm to finish on the podium and secure his first WDC.
Verstappen’s victory in the race was impressive, as was Piastri’s push, but not enough. Norris’s consistent season had built a cushion that allowed him to claim the crown.
"Winning the first race in Australia certainly gave me a big boost. But quite quickly I had, not the best run of results, and Oscar did an incredible job, was consistently ahead of me and I had some trickier times," the 26-year-old said.
"At the end of the day, it shows that just consistency over a year is what helps achieve what we've achieved today [in Abu Dhabi].
“Those tricky moments, like everyone says, you got to learn from them, you've got to acknowledge them, you've got to understand it.
"There were those doubts that I had in the beginning of the year, and I proved myself wrong, and that's something that makes me very happy.”
A landmark moment for Norris and McLaren
With 423 points to Verstappen’s 421, Norris emerged as champion. It was a moment of triumph not just for him, but for his team McLaren - their first Drivers’ title since 2008 when Lewis Hamilton won his first of seven.
Norris now stands as the 11th British driver to win the title and only the second for McLaren this century.
His win ends one era and begins another - can Norris and McLaren carry this momentum onto the new regulations in 2026?
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