Lando Norris took the 2025 FIA Formula One World Drivers’ Championship title with third place in thew Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to beat race winner to the crown by just two points. Oscar Piastri finished the race in second place to end the season in P3 overall. 

“It feels amazing,” said the first-time champion after the race. “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 of them as well, so I've enjoyed it. It's been a long year. But we did it. And I'm so proud of everyone.”

When the lights went out at the start, polesitter Verstappen got away well and quickly moved across to close the door on any challenge from Norris.

The Briton slotted into second but later in the lap, Piastri sensed an opportunity, and he powered past his team-mate to demote Norris to third. 

With the Briton only requiring a podium finish to secure the title, the position still looked good but as the first stint evolved it became clear that Norris still had plenty of work to do as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who had climbed to fourth at the start began to exert heavy pressure on the McLaren driver. 

As Verstappen and Piastri worked a gap ahead, Norris was forced to push harder than he might have like to keep Leclerc at bay. However, after running in dirty air behind the Briton, Leclerc’s tyres eventually began to give up and the McLaren was able to pull a few crucial seconds clear. 

The Briton made his sole pit stop, for Hard tyres on the same lap as Leclerc and both emerged in heavy traffic and at risk of dropping back from potential rivals running in clear air. 

Norris was decisive, however, and he quickly dismissed Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Williams Alex Albon before powering past the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and the Williams of Alex Albon in the same move in Turn 6, the Briton moved back to fourth place, behind the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda. 

The Japanese driver was encouraged by his team to back the McLaren up, but Norris was in no mood to denied. He attacked and Tsunoda swerved. Norris was forced off track but still got the job done. The incident was investigated by the Stewards who handed Tsunoda a five-second time penalty for making more than one change in direction.

Once free of the traffic and back in third place, Norris again had Leclerc to deal with and when Ferrari pitted the Monegasque driver for a second time, McLaren covered the move with a second stop for Norris. 

The pair were briefly racing each other but eventually Norris was able to pull away and in the closing stages of the race he began to close on team-mate Piastri who had run a long first stint on Hards before switching to Medium for the final part of the race. 

At the front, Verstappen was sailing serenely to his eight win of the season The Dutchman had done everything he needed to do and crossed the line 12 seconds clear of Piastri to take his 71st career win and his third in a row at the end of a remarkable comeback. 

But with Norris comfortable in third and being told to ease off in the final laps the title slipped from the Dutchman’s grasp. 

After Piastri crossed to the line to the end the campaign in P3 overall with 410 points, Norris took the flag in third, giving him a final total of 423 points, just two ahead of Verstappen and making him the 35th driver to win the FIA Formula One World Drivers’ Championship. 

Behind the top three, Leclerc finished in P4, some 25s clear of Russell. Fernando Alonso took sixth place for Aston Martin, a result that put them seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, two points ahead of Haas. Seventh place in the race went to Haas’ Esteban Ocon, with Lewis Hamilton rising from 16th on the grid to claim P8 at the flag. Nico Hülkenberg brought the Sauber team’s time in F1 to a close with two points ahead of the team’s rebrand to Audi for 2026 and the final point of the season went to Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Race 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 58 1:26'07.469 
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 58 1:26'20.063 12.594
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 58 1:26'24.041 16.572
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 58 1:26'30.748 23.279
5 George Russell Mercedes 58 1:26'56.032 48.563
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 58 1:27'15.031 1'07.562
7 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 58 1:27'17.345 1'09.876
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 58 1:27'20.139 1'12.670
9 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 58 1:27'26.483 1'19.014
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 58 1:27'26.992 1'19.523
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 58 1:27'28.512 1'21.043
12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 58 1:27'28.635 1'21.166
13 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 58 1:27'29.627 1'22.158
14 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 58 1:27'31.263 1'23.794
15 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 58 1:27'31.868 1'24.399
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 58 1:27'37.796 1'30.327
17 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 57 1:26'08.796 1 lap /1.327
18 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 57 1:26'12.128 1 lap /4.659
19 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 57 1:26'19.377 1 lap /11.908
20 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 57 1:26'21.472 1 lap /14.003