Lando Norris, 26-year-old British Formula 1 (F1) driver for McLaren, won the Drivers’ World Championship for the first time on 7th December 2025.
Norris joins the exclusive club of World Champions, which currently sits at 35 drivers, while also becoming the 11th British driver to win this title.
Abu Dhabi, the 2025 season’s 24th and final race, saw the championship being fought out between McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Redbull’s Max Verstappen.
Going into the race, Norris had 408 points, closely followed by Verstappen with 396 and Piastri with 392, leaving it with all to play for. Qualifying saw Verstappen on pole, with Norris in P2 and Piastri in P3, making Sunday’s race one of the most highly anticipated races of the season.
F1 hasn’t seen a multiple driver title fight until the final race since 2010, when it saw Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Vitaly Petrov and Sebestian Vettel fighting it out, with Vettel coming out on top.
With different tyre strategies, it made for an exciting watch. It saw Norris making his way through the pack, with the possibility for contact.
The race finished with Verstappen first, his eighth win of the season, leaving him two points behind Norris in the Drivers’ Championship. Verstappen and Redbull made a significant turnaround after the summer break, being more than 100 points behind at this midway point.
Piastri finished second, which put him third, with 410 points, in the overall Drivers’ Championship standings.
After a dominant start to the season, Piastri faced many challenges after the summer break, making the title just out of reach.
“Papaya rules” dominated most of the talk of the season.
McLaren set these rules as a code of conduct, one that would allow both McLaren drivers to race fairly, without jeopardising the team. While at times these came under great scrutiny, with the drivers and fans questioning the fairness of the decisions made, especially when they allowed Verstappen to make such a comeback, they were ultimately very successful.
Both the Drivers’ Championship and the Constructor’s Championship were secured by McLaren, making it a triumphant season for the team.
Norris has since announced that he will be swapping his number 4 for the number 1, as per tradition, for the season. Also, on 9th December, Norris was seen donning a golden version of his usual helmet at post-season testing at the Yas Marina Circuit, embracing his new title fully.
After waiting so long for his first win in F1, which he achieved in Miami in 2024, just over a year later he has taken the ultimate title in F1.
Although it took him 152 races to get there, making him have the fourth longest career before winning the title, this season has ultimately been a success.
It saw him winning the highly acclaimed Monaco Grand Prix and his home race, of which has been a lifelong dream, with his own grandstand there for the first time.
F1 in 2026 awaits great changes.
Next season sees the entry of Cadillac to the grid, increasing the total drivers to 22, instead of 20.
We will also see the loss of DRS (Drag Reduction System), which will be replaced by ‘manual override engine mode.’
There will also be major changes to the chassis, aerodynamic rules and the power unit, which will be split 50-50 between the internal combustion engine and electrical power.
With all these changes, teams are put on a level playing field again.
Will Norris be World Champion again next season, or will we see someone else with the number 1?
Image credit: Unsplash
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