Lando Norris soaked up the pressure of a nervy Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to finish on the podium and in turn secure the F1 Drivers’ Championship for the first time – following rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri home.
Norris started the title-deciding race from second on the grid, between Red Bull racer Verstappen and McLaren team mate Piastri, knowing that finishing in the top three places would be enough to put the 2025 crown beyond doubt.
A bold Piastri move demoted Norris to third on the opening lap, before attacks from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, a spell in traffic after his first pit stop and a wheel-to-wheel moment with the other Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda put the Briton under pressure.
Norris, though, dealt with everything that was thrown at him to cross the line in third and clinch the title over Verstappen and Piastri, who both delivered flawless races en route to the win and second position respectively.
At the end of it all, just two points separated Norris and Verstappen at the top of the World Championship standings, given the 10-point swing at the Yas Marina Circuit, with Piastri finishing 11 points further back.
A spirited Leclerc wound up fourth, some seven seconds behind Norris, followed by the lead Mercedes of George Russell, the high-flying Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, and the squabbling Haas and Ferrari cars of Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton.
As well as Hamilton’s recovery, Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg made up plenty of ground to end his 250th race in ninth, while Lance Stroll took the final point in 10th, despite a penalty for erratic driving.
Ollie Bearman was another to be hit with a late penalty for more than one change of direction in a battle with Stroll, leaving him 12th behind Gabriel Bortoleto. Carlos Sainz took 13th for Williams, with Tsunoda a penalised 14th after earning a five-second time penalty for his mid-race defence against Norris on an offset tyre strategy.
Next up was Kimi Antonelli in his Mercedes, from Williams’ Alex Albon, who took a penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and the Racing Bulls cars of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson – the former losing out with an early stop and the latter penalised for a clash with Bearman.
Alpine brought up their usual 2025 positions at the rear of the field, with Pierre Gasly ending the day a couple of seconds up on Franco Colapinto, despite also being penalised for exceeding track limits.
More to follow.
