Abu Dhabi

The 2025 F1 season concluded in style in Abu Dhabi as Lando Norris clinched the World Championship after a final round showdown with Max Verstappen and his team mate Oscar Piastri.

In stark contrast to the 2021 event at the same venue the race passed without controversy, with the top three qualifying at the front, racing fairly, and filling the podium positions.

Norris came into the weekend with a handy lead over Verstappen, and the title was his to lose. He had the comfort zone of knowing that he didn’t have to win the race, although he still had to finish close enough to the Dutchman to ensure that he took the title.

Verstappen had to rely on misfortune for his rival. The Red Bull driver did everything he could, securing pole and winning comfortably – his eighth success of the season. However there was nothing that he or the team could do with strategy to make life harder for Norris.

The McLarens swapped places on the first lap, with Piastri moving into second. They ran different strategies, with Norris running the normal strategy of starting on mediums and pitting early, and Piastri going to the grid on hards and stopping late. 

In the end it didn’t change the order, and they crossed the line with Piastri second and Norris third. The latter did exactly what he needed to do to secure the title by the tiny margin of two points over Verstappen after 24 races and six sprint events.

All three contenders would have been worthy World Champions. Norris more than deserves the crown, especially in the light of a costly power unit failure at the Dutch GP, and more recently the disqualification of the two papaya cars at the Las Vegas GP, both of which were out of his control. It was his brilliant and dominant performances in Mexico and Brazil, when he bounced back from a troubled run, that ultimately made the difference.

Verstappen was magnanimous in defeat, praising Norris as a deserving champion and insisting that he took great satisfaction from the way his Red Bull team had fought back and made the RB21 competitive. He ended the year with more wins, and more pole positions, than his two rivals – and having cemented his place as the best driver of the current era.

Piastri’s disappointment was all too clear given that he led the World Championship comfortably in the summer before things started to slip away from him. It’s easy to forget that this was still only his third season – in contrast to the seventh of Norris – and thus he is still learning and improving. His first involvement the white heat of a title campaign provided valuable lessons that he can draw on in the future.

Behind the title contest Abu Dhabi was a relatively low-key event, with not much at stake for the rest of the field. Ferrari ended the season with a relative high as Charles Leclerc qualified fifth and had a charging race to fourth, even keeping the McLarens in his sights. 

After a bad qualifying session Lewis Hamilton moved up from 16th to eighth with an aggressive strategy of starting on soft tyres. Nevertheless the former champ finished the season still clearly frustrated about the way his expectations have not been met.

Mercedes didn’t have to do much in Abu Dhabi to secure second place in the constructors’ championship, which was just as well as it was a low-key end to the year for the team. George Russell started fourth but slipped back to a distant fifth, while Kimi Antonelli had a poor end to his brilliant rookie season, and couldn’t better 15th.

Aston Martin concluded its 2025 season with a solid result. The Silverstone team didn’t expect the track to be favourable, but Fernando Alonso started and finished sixth, scoring crucial points that secured P7 in the World Championship for the team. Nevertheless overall it’s not been a great year for an organisation that has huge aspirations heading into its new Honda era.

Haas ended the season with a surge of points in recent weeks, but it fell just short of usurping Aston in the championship. After a frustrating run that left him questioning his own ability Esteban Ocon finally found a setup that worked in Abu Dhabi, starting eighth and finishing seventh. His team mate Ollie Bearman fell out of the points at the end of the race thanks to a penalty for weaving too much in front of a rival.

During the weekend the US-owned outfit announced that its relationship with Toyota Gazoo Racing will take a step up with title sponsorship in 2026, with the team to be known henceforth as TGR Haas F1. The extra resources will give provide a useful boost.

Abu Dhabi was the end of the road for the Sauber name ahead of the move to Audi identity in 2026. Nico Hulkenberg provided a good send-off by using a similar soft tyre strategy to Hamilton, moving up to P9 in the closing laps. His team mate Gabriel Bortoleto started an impressive seventh, but the Brazilian fell back to 11th with car issues.

This has been a great season for Williams, with the team securing fifth by a comfortable margin. However it ended on a downbeat note in Abu Dhabi with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon off the pace and finishing only P13 and P16. 

It was disappointing too for Racing Bulls, whose car has been competitive at most venues. However Isack Hadjar slipped out of the points to finish only P17, a place ahead of Liam Lawson, who landed a similar penalty to Bearman. 

Finally it was the end of an era at the Alpine team and the last race with Renault power units, ending a relationship with the Viry facility that stretches back to Michael Schumacher and Benetton in 1995. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto finished 19th and 20th – they are hoping for more with Mercedes next season.

Finally it was time to say goodbye to Yuki Tsunoda, the only current driver who is losing his place on the grid. Red Bull confirmed before Abu Dhabi that he will be demoted to the reserve role to make way for the promoted Hadjar, while promising British teenager Arvid Lindblad steps up from F2 to take the Racing Bulls seat.

Attention now turns to 2026, starting with the Pirelli tyre test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. With new rules, new cars and Audi, Cadillac and Ford all featuring on the grid it promises to be a fascinating season.