Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Verstappen wins, Norris World Champion!
F1 NewsSunday, 07 December 2025 at 15:30
Max Verstappen won the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position, but it was Lando Norris who will be celebrating on Sunday night after clinching his maiden Formula 1 Title after finishing the race in third.
Verstappen did what he could do, take pole in Qualifying and then convert that into a race win and hope for something to happen with Norris.
But that was not the case as the highly anticipated season finale, despite speculations about tactics and backing others up by Verstappen, ended up being somehow of a procession where the top three starters finish in the same order with Oscar Piastri in second place.
McLaren tried something different with Piastri, starting him on the Hards, as he went on to pass Norris at the start and stayed out long going for a one-stop strategy which meant a win was off the cards for the Aussie.
Verstappen's best chance that the likes of George Russell who was starting from fourth, and Charles Leclerc, starting from fifth, would play a role in the fight behind him which did not materialize.
Russell lost places at the start and then did not have any pace to make an impact while Leclerc, who set out chasing Norris all race long to try and take the final podium position, did not have enough ammo to do so and had to settle for fourth.
There was a slightly nervous moment for Norris when he was passing Yuki Tsunoda who hadn't stopped yet on Lap 23. The Japanese driver defended hard making the Briton overtake at the limit of the track and both were under investigation - Norris for going off track and gaining an advantage, Tsunoda for weaving.
In the end Tsunoda got the penalty and Norris got away with it and went on to win his first F1 Drivers' Crown while Verstappen had to settle for the runner-up position as Piastri was third.
Behind the top three
Leclerc finished the race in fourth, after pushing throughout to try and lift his hapless Ferrari into a podium position in and effort to try and wrap up a disastrous season with some positivity, which was not the case.
Russell finished in fifth in the Mercedes after reporting brake issues earlier in the race as his pedal was going long and was ahead of Fernando Alonso who finished were he started in sixth.
Esteban Ocon was seventh in the Haas, making up one position, and managing to fend off a late race attack from Lewis Hamilton who drove a solid race starting from 16th and finishing eighth.
After a tough and character-building season for the seven-time F1 Champion, maybe he can go into the winter break with a positive-ish result. Far from the high standards expected of him, but in the points nontheless.
Nico Hulkenberg was ninth in the Sauber ahead of Lance Stroll who bagged the final point on the day for Aston Martin.
Some words from the 2025 F1 World Champion
He may not have won, but Norris delivered a Champion's drive, and put in some decisive overtakes after McLaren pitted him in order to make sure he finished on the podium.
After treating the crowd to some celebratory donuts, and after celebrating with his family, friends, and McLaren team, Norris spoke to former F1 driver David Coulthard.
"I've not cried in a while! I didn't think I would cry but I did!" Norris began. "It's a long journey. First of all, I want to say a big thanks to my guys, everyone at McLaren, my parents - my mum, my dad - they are the ones who have supported me since the beginning.
"It feels amazing. I now know what Max feels like a little bit! I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two biggest competitors the whole season.
It's been a pleasure to race against both of them. It's been an honour, I've learned a lot from both. I've enjoyed it. It's been a long year. We did it and I'm so proud for everyone," he maintained.
Coulthard asked the newly-crowned Champion about his thoughts when in the car over the course of the 58 laps, he responded: "You can't not think about it. I knew it was a long race and we have seen many times, anything in F1 can happen.
"I just kept pushing until the last two or three laps when I could ease off," he revealed. "I still wanted to fight until the end.
"That's what we did and had to do this season with Max chasing the whole way and Oscar catching at the end. They certainly didn't make my life easy this year."
Norris said McLaren did not tell him he was being investigated for the pass on Tsunoda and added: "I didn't care. I knew what I did was fine, so I had nothing to worry about. I was just trying to enjoy the moment.
"Not many people in the world or in F1 can experience what I experienced this year, so I'm happy for everyone," he concluded.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Provisional Race Classification
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