Lando Norris is the 2025 Formula One world champion, securing his first world title with a composed third-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to end a season-long battle that went down to the final race.

Needing only a podium finish to clinch the championship, the McLaren driver delivered under the Yas Marina floodlights, expertly managing his tires and track position in the closing stages. Although Max Verstappen won the race, he fell just two points short of capturing a fifth consecutive title.

Norris finished behind his teammate Oscar Piastri, who took second, giving McLaren a double podium and providing Norris the points he needed to stay ahead of Verstappen in the season standings.

The championship showdown featured a three-way battle between Norris, Piastri, and reigning champion Verstappen—each entering the season’s final race with a mathematical chance to win. Norris held a 12-point lead over Verstappen and a 16-point lead over Piastri. Verstappen started from pole with Norris alongside him on the front row and Piastri just behind in third. Verstappen needed Norris to finish fourth or worse (and outside the top five if Piastri won), but Norris held firm after being passed early by Piastri, ultimately fending off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to secure third place.

Norris’ drivers’ championship win ends Verstappen’s run of four consecutive titles dating back to 2021 and makes him Britain’s 11th world champion. His path to the title began in karting at age eight and continued through McLaren’s junior program, which he joined in 2017 before becoming a full-time F1 driver in 2019.

Although Norris went winless over his first five seasons, McLaren’s major upgrade ahead of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix sparked his breakthrough. He won his first Grand Prix that weekend and added three more wins that season, finishing runner-up in the championship. In 2025, Norris captured 11 race wins on his way to the title.

The championship is McLaren’s first drivers’ crown since Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 triumph and completes a historic double following the team’s constructors’ championship earlier in the year.

With his achievement, Norris becomes the 35th driver to win the Formula One world championship in the sport’s 75-year history.