🔗 Share this article Lando Norris Secures First F1 World Title in Abu Dhabi Despite Verstappen's Grand Prix Win. With a performance full of brave racing, Lando Norris has won his first F1 world title by taking a podium finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A podium was enough for the British driver, despite the fact that his rival Max Verstappen took the victory and his teammate at McLaren Oscar Piastri came home in second. Norris executed precisely what was needed in an extremely high-pressure contest at the Yas Marina Circuit, including a series of bold overtakes, with flawless work from both himself and his McLaren squad. An Important Achievement for British Motorsport and McLaren By winning his first world championship, Norris becomes the eleventh British driver to accomplish the feat. This ends McLaren's drivers’ championship wait, which stretched back to 2008 when Lewis Hamilton last won it. Additionally, it had been 27 years since McLaren achieved the championship double back in 1998. It signifies a remarkable revival for the Woking-based outfit, from a nadir in the middle of the last decade when they ended up ninth in the constructors’ championship. The revival has been led by team principal Zak Brown and, more recently, by Andrea Stella, who has built an efficient outfit with a race-winning car. The new champion performs a victory donut after securing the world championship. The Story of the Teammates For his teammate Oscar Piastri, who had led the championship for a large part of the campaign, there was obvious disappointment at stumbling in the closing stages. A series of difficult weekends and some errors, including crashing out in Baku, were expensive. Nevertheless, he emerges having demonstrated he is too of champion caliber. To have been so competitive in only his third year in F1, with multiple victories, remains very impressive. Max Verstappen was also brilliant to force the fight to the wire. The Dutchman did all he could in Abu Dhabi with the race victory, but having come back from a 104-point deficit mid-season, he fell just short of having the points to overhaul Norris, finishing just two points short. Closing it Out with Clinical Precision Norris closed out his title with ruthless focus to take the championship that had been so close but eluded him as McLaren found themselves floundering at the last two rounds. These included a double disqualification in Las Vegas and then an egregious strategy call in Qatar. It was a significant accomplishment for the 26-year-old in his seventh season in F1, all of them with McLaren. He remained loyal to the squad even during some difficult times, believing they would come good. That belief was rewarded in Abu Dhabi. Norris performed a remarkable job to persist with his goal, keeping his composure and belief during periods under pressure. Having lost the lead to Piastri after Saudi Arabia, he still worked at getting the most from the car's potential. Lando Norris chases down the car of another competitor during the race. The Decisive Race In the race, Verstappen held his lead through turn one, but the main contenders kept it clean. Piastri, starting on the more durable compound, was feisty and made a brilliant move to go round the outside of Norris to claim second place. This demonstrated 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 midfield traffic, but he overtook rivals quickly and displayed no signs of nerves in his race craft. During the race, he made an incredibly bold move to dive past two cars in one swoop, moving up to fourth and closing on Verstappen's teammate. Red Bull told their driver to delay Norris, leading to a dramatic overtaking attempt where Norris went up the inside line, nearly leaving the track. The incident was looked at by the stewards, with a few impossibly tense laps elapsing before a penalty for his rival and exoneration for Norris settled the matter. This decisive charge unimpeded was crucial to his championship bid. Diverging Fates While Norris became the first Briton to take the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2020, the contrast in form between the two was stark. As the young guns battled over the title, Hamilton, the veteran, could manage only eighth place in Abu Dhabi, a disappointing ending to a difficult season with Ferrari. His first season with the Italian team had been met by enthusiasm but produced what was comfortably his most challenging year ever, finishing sixth in the championship without a podium. He has looked jaded in the closing races and will aim to rebuild over the winter. The champion celebrates on his car after being crowned world champion.
With a performance full of brave racing, Lando Norris has won his first F1 world title by taking a podium finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A podium was enough for the British driver, despite the fact that his rival Max Verstappen took the victory and his teammate at McLaren Oscar Piastri came home in second. Norris executed precisely what was needed in an extremely high-pressure contest at the Yas Marina Circuit, including a series of bold overtakes, with flawless work from both himself and his McLaren squad. An Important Achievement for British Motorsport and McLaren By winning his first world championship, Norris becomes the eleventh British driver to accomplish the feat. This ends McLaren's drivers’ championship wait, which stretched back to 2008 when Lewis Hamilton last won it. Additionally, it had been 27 years since McLaren achieved the championship double back in 1998. It signifies a remarkable revival for the Woking-based outfit, from a nadir in the middle of the last decade when they ended up ninth in the constructors’ championship. The revival has been led by team principal Zak Brown and, more recently, by Andrea Stella, who has built an efficient outfit with a race-winning car. The new champion performs a victory donut after securing the world championship. The Story of the Teammates For his teammate Oscar Piastri, who had led the championship for a large part of the campaign, there was obvious disappointment at stumbling in the closing stages. A series of difficult weekends and some errors, including crashing out in Baku, were expensive. Nevertheless, he emerges having demonstrated he is too of champion caliber. To have been so competitive in only his third year in F1, with multiple victories, remains very impressive. Max Verstappen was also brilliant to force the fight to the wire. The Dutchman did all he could in Abu Dhabi with the race victory, but having come back from a 104-point deficit mid-season, he fell just short of having the points to overhaul Norris, finishing just two points short. Closing it Out with Clinical Precision Norris closed out his title with ruthless focus to take the championship that had been so close but eluded him as McLaren found themselves floundering at the last two rounds. These included a double disqualification in Las Vegas and then an egregious strategy call in Qatar. It was a significant accomplishment for the 26-year-old in his seventh season in F1, all of them with McLaren. He remained loyal to the squad even during some difficult times, believing they would come good. That belief was rewarded in Abu Dhabi. Norris performed a remarkable job to persist with his goal, keeping his composure and belief during periods under pressure. Having lost the lead to Piastri after Saudi Arabia, he still worked at getting the most from the car's potential. Lando Norris chases down the car of another competitor during the race. The Decisive Race In the race, Verstappen held his lead through turn one, but the main contenders kept it clean. Piastri, starting on the more durable compound, was feisty and made a brilliant move to go round the outside of Norris to claim second place. This demonstrated 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 midfield traffic, but he overtook rivals quickly and displayed no signs of nerves in his race craft. During the race, he made an incredibly bold move to dive past two cars in one swoop, moving up to fourth and closing on Verstappen's teammate. Red Bull told their driver to delay Norris, leading to a dramatic overtaking attempt where Norris went up the inside line, nearly leaving the track. The incident was looked at by the stewards, with a few impossibly tense laps elapsing before a penalty for his rival and exoneration for Norris settled the matter. This decisive charge unimpeded was crucial to his championship bid. Diverging Fates While Norris became the first Briton to take the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2020, the contrast in form between the two was stark. As the young guns battled over the title, Hamilton, the veteran, could manage only eighth place in Abu Dhabi, a disappointing ending to a difficult season with Ferrari. His first season with the Italian team had been met by enthusiasm but produced what was comfortably his most challenging year ever, finishing sixth in the championship without a podium. He has looked jaded in the closing races and will aim to rebuild over the winter. The champion celebrates on his car after being crowned world champion.