Lando Norris elevated himself to world champion status by finishing third at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was a relatively tense but calm race—nail biting for the Norris fanbase. Verstappen and Red Bull mounted a strong comeback in the second half of the season that piled pressure onto McLaren and its two drivers. But Norris held his nerve and did exactly what he needed to do to secure his first Drivers’ Championship title.
Norris lined up second, sandwiched between pole-sitter Max Verstappen and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, fully aware that a top-three finish would seal the 2025 World Championship. But his path to the title became complicated from the very first lap, as Piastri dived past to push him down to third. From there, Norris had to fend off sustained pressure from Charles Leclerc, manage traffic after his first pit stop, and survive a tense wheel-to-wheel fight with Yuki Tsunoda.
Despite everything thrown his way, Norris held on to finish third, securing the championship by two points over race winner Verstappen, with Piastri completing a flawless drive to second. Piastri ultimately ended the season 11 pointsbehind the new champion.
Leclerc delivered a determined effort to take fourth, around seven seconds adrift of Norris, followed by George Russell’s lead Mercedes and Fernando Alonso’s flying Aston Martin. Behind them came the close-fought battle between Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton in their Haas and Ferrari machines.
Further down the order, Nico Hulkenberg celebrated his 250th Grand Prix by climbing to ninth for Kick Sauber, while Lance Stroll claimed the final point in tenth despite a penalty for erratic driving.
Ollie Bearman also received a late penalty for multiple moves in defence against Stroll, leaving him 12th behind Gabriel Bortoleto. Carlos Sainz settled for 13th in the Williams, and Tsunoda slipped to 14th after a five-second penalty for over-defending against Norris on mismatched tyre strategies.
Kimi Antonelli followed next in his Mercedes, ahead of Alex Albon—who was penalised for speeding in the pit lane—and the Racing Bulls pair of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, the latter also sanctioned after a collision with Bearman.
As has become typical in 2025, Alpine rounded out the classification, with Pierre Gasly finishing a couple of seconds ahead of Franco Colapinto despite picking up a track-limits penalty.
