Through an exhibition of gutsy racing, Lando Norris has won his maiden F1 world title by achieving P3 at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. That finish was all that was required for the 26-year-old driver, even though Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished first and his teammate at McLaren Oscar Piastri came home in second.
The driver performed precisely what was required in an incredibly high-pressure race at the Yas Marina Circuit, including a number of bold passing maneuvers, with flawless execution from both himself and his team.
With this his first world championship, Norris becomes the 11th driver from Britain to accomplish the feat. It also brings to an end McLaren's drivers’ championship drought, which dated back to 2008 when Lewis Hamilton last won it. Furthermore, it had been 27 years since McLaren last secured the drivers’ and constructors’ double back in 1998.
This marks a remarkable turnaround for the Woking-based outfit, from a low point in the middle of the last decade when they ended up ninth in the standings. This resurgence has been led by boss Zak Brown and, most recently, by Andrea Stella, who has built an efficient team with a hugely competitive car.
The new champion performs a victory donut after securing the world championship.
For his teammate Oscar Piastri, who had looked so strong for a large part of the season, there was obvious frustration at stumbling in the final third. A series of difficult weekends and some errors, including a crash in Baku, proved costly. However, he finishes the season having shown he is also of champion caliber. To have been so competitive in only his third year in F1, with multiple victories, remains very impressive.
Max Verstappen too had been brilliant to force the fight down to the last race. He did everything possible in Abu Dhabi with the race victory, but after fighting back from a 104-point deficit in August, he fell just short of having enough to overhaul Norris, finishing just two points behind.
He secured his success with ruthless focus to take the crown that had been so close but remained just out of grasp as McLaren struggled at the previous two races. These included a double disqualification in Las Vegas and then an questionable strategy call in Qatar.
It was a significant achievement for the driver in his seventh year in F1, all of them with McLaren. He stuck with the team even during some difficult periods, believing they would return to the top. That belief was vindicated in Abu Dhabi.
Norris performed a hugely impressive job to persist with his task, keeping his composure and confidence during periods under pressure. After losing the lead to Piastri after Saudi Arabia, he still worked at getting the most from what he could.
Lando Norris chases down the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda during the grand prix.
At the start, Verstappen held his lead through the first corner, but the three title leaders kept it clean. Piastri, using the hard tyre, was feisty and made a spectacular move to pass the outside of Norris to take second place.
It showed the McLarens were allowed to fight, but put Norris under pressure from the Charles Leclerc. The first round pit stops saw Norris come out into traffic, but he overtook rivals within a lap and showed no signs of nerves in his race craft.
During the race, he made an absolutely bravura move to overtake two cars in one swoop, moving up to fourth and closing on Verstappen's teammate. The rival team told their driver to delay Norris, leading to a dramatic assault where Norris burst up the inside, nearly leaving the track.
The incident was investigated by the race officials, with a few impossibly tense laps passing before a penalty for his rival and no further action for Norris was decided. This decisive charge unimpeded was crucial to his title fight.
While Norris was crowned the first British driver to take the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2020, the contrast in form between the two was stark. As the young guns fought for the title, Hamilton, the grand champion, could only finish eighth place in Abu Dhabi, a disappointing ending to a dismal season with Ferrari.
Making his debut with the Scuderia had been met by enthusiasm but produced what was comfortably his most challenging year ever, finishing sixth in the championship and failing to secure a top-three finish. He has looked weary in the final rounds and will look to rebuild over the winter.
The champion revels on his car after becoming the title winner.
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