Verstappen to miss FIA awards gala in Tashkent

Reports in the Dutch media claimed that the four-time Formula 1 Champion is down with seasonal flu, and as such, will not make it to Tashkent to pick up his runner-up trophy, as Lando Norris will receive his F1 Championship trophy.

Verstappen lost out on a fifth consecutive F1 Title in Abu Dhabi last Sunday despite winning the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole, as Norris finished third while Oscar Piastri finished second.

Verstappen struggled with an uncompetitive Red Bull Racing car in 2025 and at one point was 104 points behind in the Drivers Championship following his home race in Zandvoort.

Following the exit of Christian Horner from the team boss role after the British Grand Prix weekend, Laurent Mekies took over and executed a turnaround in the team's fortunes as Verstappen made the most out of an improved RB21 to launch an attack on the McLaren pair.

He arrived in Abu Dhabi still in contention for the title and took pole and won the race, the maximum he could've done, but which was not enough, as Norris needed a podium finish to seal his maiden Title, which is what happened.

Verstappen lost out to Norris by two points only, which put the spotlight on his Spanish Grand Prix, where he was given a penalty that dropped him to tenth after banging wheels with Mercedes' George Russell, which meant he lost out on nine points.

Another incident took place in the Qatar Grand Prix when Norris passed Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli on the final lap and scored two more points after an error from the rookie.

Had Norris not scored those two points, he and Verstappen would've finished the season with an equal score, which meant the Dutchman would've won since he had more wins.

Antonelli asked his team about the points gap between Norris and Verstappen in the end and was seen apologizing to the Red Bull man after the race in Abu Dhabi, who embraced him and shared a few friendly words with him.

Norris and McLaren will pick up their trophies today.