Lando Norris finished third to clinch the 2025 Formula 1 world championship on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP via Getty Images)
(GIUSEPPE CACACE via Getty Images)
Lando Norris did what he had to do to win the 2025 Formula 1 world championship.
Norris, 26, finished third in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on a two-stop strategy behind race winner Max Verstappen and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Norris entered the race with the ability to finish third and clinch the title no matter what Verstappen and Piastri did.
Advertisement
And that’s exactly how McLaren played it. As Piastri was leading the race and needing to make his mandatory pit stop 40 laps into the 58-lap grand prix, the team pitted Norris for a second time and kept Piastri on the track. Norris needed to cover off a two-stop strategy from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and couldn’t afford to lose time to Leclerc on old tires by staying out another lap.
Had Norris dropped to fourth behind Leclerc, Verstappen could have won the championship with his win.
Instead, Piastri pitted a lap later and found himself way behind Verstappen after Verstappen had passed Piastri on track before the Australian pitted. As he emerged back on the track over 24 seconds behind Verstappen, Piastri didn’t have enough time on his medium tires to make up the massive deficit.
It’s the first championship for Norris in his seventh full season in Formula 1 as he beats the four-time reigning champion Verstappen by two points. Norris went the first five years of his career without a win before winning four races and finishing second in the points standings to Verstappen a season ago. This year, McLaren came back with an even faster car relative to the rest of the field and won its second straight constructor’s title as both Norris and Piastri won seven races.
Advertisement
Verstappen, meanwhile, won eight as he nearly completed an incredible comeback to win his fifth straight championship.
That comeback could have been reality if it wasn’t for a bobble a week ago by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. The rookie slid wide as he was trying to hold off Norris for fourth in the waning laps of the Qatar Grand Prix. That allowed Norris — who was at a massive disadvantage thanks to an incredible strategy blunder by McLaren — to sneak past for fourth and ensure that he could win the title with a podium finish.
Had Norris finished behind Antonelli, he would have needed to finish second behind Verstappen in Abu Dhabi to win the championship.
Norris needed to do some serious overtaking to retain his position early in the race on Sunday, too. After making his first pit stop, Norris needed to work his way past drivers who hadn’t pitted yet. He knifed through multiple cars before he was forced off the track while making a pass of Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
Advertisement
Tsunoda’s task was simple — he had to make it as hard as possible for Norris to pass him despite having older tires. The slower Norris went, the better Verstappen’s chances were of winning the title. But Tsunoda moved a bit too much as he defended against Norris and was given a five-second penalty for blocking.
Norris, who did pass Tsunoda while off the track, was not given a penalty since the stewards deemed that he was forced off.
Norris is the 35th different driver to win a Formula 1 world title. He’s also the 11th different British driver to win a championship and the third British driver to win a title in the 2000s along with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix results
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Advertisement
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Lando Norris, McLaren
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
7. Esteban Ocon, Haas
8. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
9. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
10. Ollie Bearman, Haas
11. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
12. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
13. Carlos Sainz, Williams
14. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
15. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
16. Alex Albon, Williams
17. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
18. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
19. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
20. Franco Colapinto, Alpine
2025 Formula 1 standings
1. Lando Norris, 423 points
2. Max Verstappen, 421
3. Oscar Piastri, 410
4. George Russell, 319
Advertisement
5. Charles Leclerc, 242
6. Lewis Hamilton, 156
7. Kimi Antonelli, 150
8. Alex Albon, 73
9. Carlos Sainz, 65
10. Fernando Alonso, 56
11. Isack Hadjar, 51
12. Nico Hulkenberg, 49
13. Ollie Bearman, 42
14. Esteban Ocon, 39
15. Liam Lawson, 38
16. Lance Stroll, 34
17. Yuki Tsunoda, 33
18. Pierre Gasly, 22
19. Gabriel Bortoleto, 19
20. Franco Colapinto, 0
