🔗 Share this article McLaren's Lando Norris Claims Maiden F1 World Title in Abu Dhabi In Spite Of Verstappen's Race Victory. With a performance full of gutsy driving, Lando Norris has clinched his maiden F1 world title by taking a podium finish at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Third place was sufficient for the British driver, despite the fact that his rival Max Verstappen took the victory and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri came home in second. Norris executed exactly what was necessary in an incredibly high-pressure contest at the Abu Dhabi track, including a number of bold passing maneuvers, with impeccable execution from both the driver and his McLaren squad. A Momentous Accomplishment for British Motorsport and McLaren With this his maiden world championship, Norris is now the eleventh driver from Britain to achieve this. This ends McLaren's drivers’ championship drought, which stretched back to 2008 when Lewis Hamilton was their last champion. Furthermore, it had been 27 years since McLaren achieved the drivers’ and constructors’ double back in 1998. This marks a stunning turnaround for the team, since a low point in the mid-2010s when they twice finished ninth in the constructors’ championship. The comeback has been led by team principal Zak Brown and, most recently, by Andrea Stella, who has delivered an efficient outfit with a race-winning car. The new champion performs a celebratory 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 season, there was obvious disappointment at stumbling in the closing stages. Several of difficult weekends and some errors, including crashing out in Baku, were expensive. Nevertheless, he finishes the season having demonstrated he is also world champion material. Being so competitive in only his third season in F1, with seven wins, remains very impressive. Verstappen was also brilliant to take the fight to the wire. He did all he could in Abu Dhabi with the win, but having come back from a significant deficit in August, he did not quite have enough to overhaul Norris, ending up just a handful of points behind. Sealing the Deal with Clinical Execution He secured his success with ruthless focus to win the championship that had been so close but remained just out of grasp as McLaren struggled at the last two races. First a double disqualification in Las Vegas and then an egregious strategy call in Qatar. This represents no little accomplishment for the 26-year-old in his seventh year in F1, each one with McLaren. He stuck with the squad even during tough times, believing they would come good. That faith was vindicated in Abu Dhabi. He has done a hugely impressive job to stick at his task, keeping his cool and belief during periods under the cosh. Having lost the championship lead to Piastri earlier, he still worked at maximising the car's potential. Lando Norris closes on the Red Bull of another competitor during the grand prix. The Decisive Race In the race, Verstappen kept his first place through turn one, but the three title leaders kept it clean. Piastri, using the more durable compound, was aggressive and made a spectacular move to go round the outside of Norris to take second place. This demonstrated the McLarens were allowed to fight, but left 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 displayed great composure in his driving. On lap 19, he made an absolutely bravura move to overtake two cars at once, climbing to fourth and closing on Verstappen's teammate. The rival team told their driver to delay Norris, leading to a dramatic overtaking attempt where Norris burst up the inside line, nearly completely off the track. This moment was investigated by the stewards, with several nerve-wracking laps passing before a penalty for his rival and exoneration for Norris was decided. This bold move unimpeded was crucial to his championship bid. Diverging Fortunes While Norris was crowned the first Briton to win the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2020, the contrast in form between the two was stark. While the new generation battled over the title, Hamilton, the grand champion, could only finish eighth place in Abu Dhabi, a disappointing ending to a difficult season with Ferrari. Making his debut with the Italian team had been met by excitement but produced what was easily his most challenging year ever, finishing sixth in the championship without a podium. He has appeared jaded in the closing races and will aim to reset over the winter. Lando Norris celebrates on his car after being crowned world champion.
With a performance full of gutsy driving, Lando Norris has clinched his maiden F1 world title by taking a podium finish at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Third place was sufficient for the British driver, despite the fact that his rival Max Verstappen took the victory and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri came home in second. Norris executed exactly what was necessary in an incredibly high-pressure contest at the Abu Dhabi track, including a number of bold passing maneuvers, with impeccable execution from both the driver and his McLaren squad. A Momentous Accomplishment for British Motorsport and McLaren With this his maiden world championship, Norris is now the eleventh driver from Britain to achieve this. This ends McLaren's drivers’ championship drought, which stretched back to 2008 when Lewis Hamilton was their last champion. Furthermore, it had been 27 years since McLaren achieved the drivers’ and constructors’ double back in 1998. This marks a stunning turnaround for the team, since a low point in the mid-2010s when they twice finished ninth in the constructors’ championship. The comeback has been led by team principal Zak Brown and, most recently, by Andrea Stella, who has delivered an efficient outfit with a race-winning car. The new champion performs a celebratory 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 season, there was obvious disappointment at stumbling in the closing stages. Several of difficult weekends and some errors, including crashing out in Baku, were expensive. Nevertheless, he finishes the season having demonstrated he is also world champion material. Being so competitive in only his third season in F1, with seven wins, remains very impressive. Verstappen was also brilliant to take the fight to the wire. He did all he could in Abu Dhabi with the win, but having come back from a significant deficit in August, he did not quite have enough to overhaul Norris, ending up just a handful of points behind. Sealing the Deal with Clinical Execution He secured his success with ruthless focus to win the championship that had been so close but remained just out of grasp as McLaren struggled at the last two races. First a double disqualification in Las Vegas and then an egregious strategy call in Qatar. This represents no little accomplishment for the 26-year-old in his seventh year in F1, each one with McLaren. He stuck with the squad even during tough times, believing they would come good. That faith was vindicated in Abu Dhabi. He has done a hugely impressive job to stick at his task, keeping his cool and belief during periods under the cosh. Having lost the championship lead to Piastri earlier, he still worked at maximising the car's potential. Lando Norris closes on the Red Bull of another competitor during the grand prix. The Decisive Race In the race, Verstappen kept his first place through turn one, but the three title leaders kept it clean. Piastri, using the more durable compound, was aggressive and made a spectacular move to go round the outside of Norris to take second place. This demonstrated the McLarens were allowed to fight, but left 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 displayed great composure in his driving. On lap 19, he made an absolutely bravura move to overtake two cars at once, climbing to fourth and closing on Verstappen's teammate. The rival team told their driver to delay Norris, leading to a dramatic overtaking attempt where Norris burst up the inside line, nearly completely off the track. This moment was investigated by the stewards, with several nerve-wracking laps passing before a penalty for his rival and exoneration for Norris was decided. This bold move unimpeded was crucial to his championship bid. Diverging Fortunes While Norris was crowned the first Briton to win the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2020, the contrast in form between the two was stark. While the new generation battled over the title, Hamilton, the grand champion, could only finish eighth place in Abu Dhabi, a disappointing ending to a difficult season with Ferrari. Making his debut with the Italian team had been met by excitement but produced what was easily his most challenging year ever, finishing sixth in the championship without a podium. He has appeared jaded in the closing races and will aim to reset over the winter. Lando Norris celebrates on his car after being crowned world champion.