Lando Norris fulfilled a childhood dream on Sunday night, clinching the 2025 Formula 1 world championship with a battling third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to end McLaren’s 17-year wait for a drivers’ crown.
Max Verstappen took victory from pole for Red Bull, with Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri second, but the mathematics were simple: a podium was enough for the 26-year-old Briton and he delivered exactly that, becoming the 35th driver and 11th Briton to win the title.
Starting second, Norris lost a place to Piastri at the start and spent the entire race fending off Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari while keeping his car on the limit. A heart-in-mouth moment came when he lunged past Yuki Tsunoda only to be forced wide; stewards investigated but cleared Norris and instead penalised the Japanese for aggressive defending.
When the chequered flag fell, Norris spun into joyous donuts as the Yas Marina crowd roared. Tears flowed freely over team radio and on the podium as the weight of two decades of sacrifice lifted.
“It’s not just this year or the last seven or eight years I’ve been with McLaren, but the last 16 or 17 years of my life trying to chase this dream,” an emotional Norris said. “I’m proud. I’ve got my whole family, my girlfriend, a lot of people here. My mum and dad let me share this dream and today I got to share it with them.”
The triumph erases the pain of 2024 when Norris finished runner-up to Verstappen, and marks McLaren’s first drivers’ title since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. It is also sweet redemption for team principal Andrea Stella and a resurgent squad that overhauled Red Bull mid-season.
Norris, who won nine races in 2025 including a dominant streak in the second half, sealed the championship with one round to spare in the calendar, though Abu Dhabi remained the official decider. Verstappen, gracious in defeat, congratulated his rival, while Piastri’s runner-up finish confirmed McLaren’s first constructors’ title since 1998.
