Lando Norris Clinches Maiden F1 Title in Thriller Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Earlier this Sunday, the 2025 F1 season concluded in the fabled Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.
4-time World Champion Max Verstappen displayed a dominant performance throughout the weekend, achieving pole on Saturday and converting this into a P1 finish on Sunday to record his 8th victory of the season, the highest among any drivers on the grid. However, this proved inadequate as the legendary Dutch driver failed to add a 5th trophy to his catalogue, falling short of McLaren faithful Lando Norris.
Lando had a strong season opener in Melbourne finishing P1 but hit a rough patch afterwards
The 26 year old himself had a strong showing, finishing P3 to rack up his season total to 423 points, just two more than Max’s 421, and becoming the 35th driver in Formula 1’s vast history to win a World Championship. He is also the 11th British Champion to receive this honour.
Lando had a strong season opener in Melbourne finishing P1 but hit a rough patch afterwards with his 2nd victory coming in Monaco over two months later, though he did continue to accumulate podium finishes while team-mate Oscar Piastri was in his best form. After the summer break, following Norris’ engine failure in Zandvoort, which resulted in disqualification, the Australian counterpart formulated a 34 point lead in the Drivers’ Championship rankings, causing fans to believe it was all but over. Piastri also had a substantial 104 point lead over Max Verstappen.
Max won the next race in Monza, one surrounded by controversy due to Norris and Piastri swapping positions, courtesy of a slow pitstop for the former. After that, Piastri’s performances also started to decline with Max winning 2 out of the next 3 races. While McLaren had already secured the Constructor’s Championship in Singapore, the driver’s title suddenly had all to play for but that’s when Lando stepped up, notching consecutive victories in Mexico and Brazil to firmly establish his lead at the top of the championship.
McLaren achieved their first driver and constructor double win since 1998
Verstappen however came back in Las Vegas and with excessive plank wear resulting in a double disqualification for the McLarens, he now had a real shot at winning. However, this was dependent on the results of the other drivers. He came out on top in the next race in Qatar thanks to some solid strategising by engineer Hannah Schmitz, meaning that if he won the final race and Norris finished P4 or below, he would be champion.
Nevertheless, Norris hung on to his position, achieving P2 in the qualification. Even though Oscar Piastri did overtake him at the end of Turn 1, Norris valiantly held off Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc for the entirety of the first half of the race. Combined with some quick pit-stops from McLaren and a strong strategy, Norris had complete control over his P3 spot, helping McLaren achieve their first driver and constructor double win since 1998; And once the chequered flag was waved, you could hear the ecstasy in the champion’s voice:
You made a kid’s dream come true!
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