The checkered flag has been waved in Abu Dhabi, and British Lando Norris has been crowned the champion of the 2025 Formula 1 season. From start to finish, there was controversy, drama and some elite racing from some of the best drivers in the world.

For the first time in over a decade, there were three contenders to stand on top of the world’s biggest racing stage going into the final showdown: Oscar Piastri and Norris, the two McLaren teammates, as well as, of course, the four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

Oscar Piastri

The Australian Piastri finished strong in 2024. In just his second season in F1, he won his first-ever race in Hungary. In 2025, he continued to make vast progress, equaling and even surpassing his teammate Norris in qualification and race finishes. Piastri won four of the first six races of the calendar in a dominating fashion. The third-year driver even achieved a Grand Slam in Zandvoort, where he started on pole, won the race, had the fastest lap and even led every lap.

However, once the pressure on his championship lead began to build, Piastri began to crumble under the lights. With a DNF in Azerbaijan and minimal points finishes compared to his championship rivals in the latter half of the season, Piastri’s lead over Norris and Verstappen collapsed, and the Aussie finished 3rd in the standings.

Max Verstappen

Verstappen, despite not having the fastest car in 2024, won the title with races to spare for his fourth year in a row. In 2025, the Red Bull paled in comparison to Norris’s and Piastri’s McLaren, and as such, Verstappen had a 104-point deficit to overcome following the Dutch Grand Prix. With just nine races remaining in the season, the title fight was presumably between the McLaren duo.

However, as the Red Bull gained pace for the second half of the season, Verstappen showed why he is regarded one of the best drivers in history. Winning three of four races after Zandvoort in Italy, Azerbaijan and the USA, the gap between Verstappen and the papaya duo began to marginalize.

After two straight wins in Las Vegas and Qatar, the penultimate rounds of the season, Verstappen was just twelve points behind Norris for the title. However, a third place finish for Norris was enough, and despite a dominating performance yet again from Verstappen, who won on the Yas Marina circuit, the Dutchman fell short by just two points.

Lando Norris

2024 could have been considered a disappointing season for Norris. Despite winning his first ever race, he was unable to challenge Verstappen for the title in spite of having the quickest car on the field. In 2025, however, Norris handled the pressure of a title fight with relative ease, shutting down criticism while having the most consistent season on the track.

In the end the Brit had seven race wins, including on iconic circuits like Monaco, São Paulo and Silverstone, as he overcame the challenge of a 34-point deficit courtesy of Piastri. A final podium in Abu Dhabi sealed victory by just two points over Verstappen, and the emotions flooded in for Norris’s first ever world title.