By Taylor Kirkwood

This weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix the Formula One World Championship was won by Lando Norris. The Mclaren driver won the championship by just two points over rival Max Verstappen. A place on the podium secured Lando’s place as the new champion of Formula 1.

Norris had the chance to clinch the title in Qatar if he outscored Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri by 26 points. However, a win from Verstappen and a second-place finish for Piastri meant Norris would have to wait another week for victory.

The title did not come easy for Norris though, as he had only regained the lead of the championship four races before Abu Dhabi at the Mexican Grand Prix. Norris’ teammate Piastri had led the championship since the fifth round in the season in Saudi Arabia.

Max Verstappen who was the reigning 2024 champion had fell behind to third place in the standings. At the Dutch GP after the summer break Verstappen was trailing behind the leader with a 104-point gap. A win in Monza would change everything for Verstappen’s title fight.

Max Verstappen wins Italian Grand prix by NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Dutchman would win six out of the last 10 races in the season. Monza would also prove to be crucial turning point for both Mclaren drivers’ title hopes. A slow pit stop for Norris would see Mclaren make a controversial decision to swap Piastri with Norris. This allowed Norris to gain three crucial points over his teammate.

The following week in Baku, Piastri would crash in qualifying leading him to start ninth. Having the chance to redeem himself in the race and climb up the points positions, Piastri cracked under pressure. He crashed in the opening lap of the race, in the following weeks Piastri admitted the swap in Monza was still playing on his mind.

Following Piastri’s mentality dip teammate Norris took this as an opportuinity to gain confidence and points in the title fight. Norris would go on a four-race podium streak after Baku, while Piastri would not return to the podium until Qatar, the penultimate round of the season.

Oscar Piastri’s lap one crash in Baku by Rudy Carezzevoli via Getty Images

A win in Mexico is what seen Lando Norris regain the championship lead once again in 2025. Verstappen and Norris would continue to charge for the title while Piastri was left trying to pick up the broken pieces of his season. In Qatar, Verstappen would eventually surpass Piastri in the standings and be only 12 points behind Norris.

A double disqualification in Vegas would cause a problem for both Mclaren drivers in their title fight. The disqualification and changes made to the car would suddenly see a positive change in Piastri, finishing first in the sprint race and second in the race.

A fourth-place finish for Norris led to a decider in the desert in Abu Dhabi. The last time more than two people were still in contention for the title in the last round was in 2010, with Sebastian Vettel winning the title who was third in the championship before the last race.

Despite only needing a podium finish Norris’ race in Abu Dhabi would not be too easy for him. Verstappen would comfortably keep the lead of the race while Piastri would overtake Norris for second. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc would put immense pressure on Norris and try to overtake him. Norris would eventually hold him off and make his pitstop which led him into a lot of traffic.

Third place felt a little more secure until Leclerc pitted for a second time forcing Mclaren to bring in Norris again. Leclerc was rapidly gaining on him but with only a few laps left of the race his tyres started to grain, and he was unable to catch Norris.

Lando Norris on the podium at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by Zak Mauger via Getty Images

After a long 58 laps Lando Norris would eventually take the chequered flag and become F1 World Champion. With Mclaren clinching the constructors title earlier in the year, they would take home the double. After the race Norris would come on the radio to joke about not crying but also thank everyone who supported him throughout his journey.

After four consecutive years of Max Verstappen winning the championship and being number one, Formula 1’s very own number four Lando Norris would become world champion and the new number one.

There is a new number one in town and his name is Lando Norris