Credit: NDTV
Lando Norris Wins 2025 Formula 1 World Championship
Published: Thursday, December 11, 2025
by Thomas Mazurowski
Lando Norris clinched the World Drivers’ Championship on Sunday with a third-place finish in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Three drivers were mathematically eligible to win the title going into the final race. The podium finish guaranteed Norris the championship over rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, despite them both finishing ahead.
Defending champion Max Verstappen won the race, ending a remarkable late-season comeback on a high note. After winning four consecutive championships of his own, Verstappen finishes the 2025 season just two points behind Norris in second place.
The championship contenders qualified in the top three spots. Verstappen jumped into the lead with a daring move on the race start, cutting off Norris into turn 1. Piastri got around Norris for second later in the lap. George Russell had a rough start, giving up position to Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso.
Strategy became a concern in the first stage of the race. The top four were unable to build a gap to the rest of the field, meaning that the leaders would be stuck in traffic after pitting. Additionally, Leclerc kept pace with Norris, threatening his podium spot and potentially his championship bid.
Norris made his first stop on lap 16, with Leclerc and Alonso following him in. He made a daring move navigating through traffic, passing both Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson in the same corner on lap 19. A few laps later, RedBull driver Yuki Tsunoda nearly ran Norris off the track defending his position, but could not stop the McLaren’s charge through the field.
All three championship contenders were on different strategies, with Verstappen pitting on lap 24 and Piastri extending his stint to lap 41. Norris eventually came in for a second time on lap 39 to finish the race on fresher tires.
Verstappen led Piastri with Norris in third until the checkered flag. The Dutchman’s victory marks his eighth of the year, the most out of any driver.
Norris put together a solid second half of the season against McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. The Briton finished on the podium six times in the final nine races, including two grand prix victories. Piastri went winless in the same period, allowing Norris to surge into the championship lead in the final rounds.
Abu Dhabi was the final race for the ground-effect regulations introduced in 2022, and the final race for the iconic drag reduction system used since 2011. The 2026 cars will feature changes to engine regulations, a new push-to-pass system, active aerodynamics, and a slight reduction in size.
Formula 1 will return on March 8th next year with the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Thomas Mazurowski can be reached thomas.mazurowski@student.shu.eduPosted in: sports,