Lando Norris has become the 11th British driver to be crowned the Formula 1 world champion. The 26-year-old did just enough to seal the title in the final race of the 2025 contest, which took place in Abu Dhabi. His McLaren team had long since wrapped up the constructors’ championship, and so his win meant the Woking-based outfit did the double for the first time since 1998, when Finn Mika Hakkinen won the first of his two world titles.
Norris finished third in Abu Dhabi and that was enough for him to land the title despite his two last-race rivals both finishing in front of him. Max Verstappen had a storming end to the season and won the race, with Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri finishing second. But the day belonged to the man from Glastonbury and despite some minor concerns, he sealed his maiden success with relative ease.
Image credit: Michael Potts F1 / Shutterstock.com.
Thrilling Season but Dull Conclusion
The fact that three drivers went into the final GP with a chance of being crowned world champion drew a lot of attention to the sport. It was also indicative of the fact that the battle for the championship was hard-fought. Given Verstappen had won his last three titles by 63 points, an insane 290 points, and a still-hefty 146 points respectively, with Lewis Hamilton also winning by 124 points in 2020, the fact that there was jeopardy going into the tail end of the campaign was a refreshing change.
In the end, Norris won by just two points from the man who was seeking a fifth straight drivers’ championship. Piastri was 13 points back, and his chances of final-day glory had always been slim. Both drivers spent time at the top of the standings throughout the season, with Piastri ahead for long periods, and calling the eventual winner was tough. Verstappen then mounted an unlikely challenge by winning six of the last nice Grands Prix, including each of the last three.
F1 Drivers Championship 2025 Final Standings
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 423 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 421 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 410 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 319 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 242 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 156 |
| 7 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 150 |
| 8 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 73 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Williams | 64 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 56 |
But Norris proved he had what it took. Disappointingly for neutrals, the final race of this exciting season played out largely as expected. Verstappen sealed a straightforward win from pole, but the two McLarens knew what they had to do and although an early pit stop saw Norris have to contend with some traffic, his skill and superior car saw him overtake with ease.
There was briefly a concern that Charles Leclerc may have been able to push Norris down to fourth. However, the Ferrari man, who finished fifth overall and fourth in Abu Dhabi, couldn’t really mount a serious challenge. Moreover, even if he had, McLaren would have ordered Piastri to allow Norris to overtake at the end of the race, once it was clear the former could no longer pinch the title anyway.
So all in all, it was a fairly dull end to an exciting season. As the remaining laps ticked away, there was always the fear that Norris’s car might fail, but reliability and consistency have been the hallmarks of his and his team’s season, and he eased home in third. In tears immediately after taking the chequered flag, Norris will hope to add to this title, while Verstappen will be desperate to get his hands back on the number one car.
Consistency Key
Despite never leading the title race all season, it was the defending champion, Verstappen, who ended 2025 with the most race wins. Of the 24 races, he won exactly a third, with the two McLaren men winning seven each. George Russell was the only other driver to stand atop the podium, winning in Canada and Singapore.
What made the difference for McLaren, and Norris in particular, was their remarkable consistency. The eventual world champion made the top three a massive 18 times during the season, two more than his teammate and three more than Verstappen.
| Driver | Poles | Race Wins | Podiums |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lando Norris | 7 | 7 | 18 |
| Oscar Piastri | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| Max Verstappen | 8 | 8 | 15 |
| George Russell | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Charles Leclerc | 1 | 0 | 7 |
The McLaren duo were disqualified in Las Vegas for excessive plank wear on their cars. When Verstappen won that race, it really opened the title up, but that was really the only Grand Prix where one or both drivers didn’t score heavily. Norris was 18th in the Dutch Grand Prix due to an oil leak late on, his teammate cashing in to win.
Earlier in the season, in Canada, the two McLaren men collided in the closing stages of the race. It was Norris’ fault, and he was forced to retire, Piastri driving on to take fourth place. However, aside from those incidents and the disqualification in Vegas, Norris only finished outside the top four once, coming seventh in Azerbaijan after a very poor qualifying performance.
Norris Season Summary
- Race wins – seven
- Second – eight
- Third – three
- Fourth – two
- Seventh – one
- Outside points – three (18th twice, disqualified once)
Norris was brilliant in 2025. There are set to be lots of changes for 2026, so it remains to be seen how strong McLaren will be, but he and Piastri will surely be among those battling it out with Verstappen next year.