Lando Norris becomes Britain’s 11th F1 world champion and immediately sparks retirement fear

Dec 7, 2025 - 14:45

Lando Norris has become Britain’s 11th Formula 1 World Champion by clinching his maiden title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The 26-year-old completed his comeback charge over teammate Oscar Piastri and held off a late-season resurgence from Max Verstappen to wrestle the title from the Dutchman after 1457 days.

Bristol-born Norris is the 2025 F1 world champion

Verstappen won the race, but Norris ultimately edged the three-way title fight

Verstappen, who has won the last four titles, loses his crown and likely the No.1 on his car, despite coming first at the Yas Marina Circuit.

However, Bristolian Norris crossed the line in third to win overall by just two points, in a season that pushed him to his limits.

His engineer, Will Joseph, said on team radio: “That’s it mate, you are world champion, world champion! Well done, mate, I’m so proud.”

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown added: “Lando, this is Zak from McLaren. Is this the world champion hotline? We did it, awesome!”

The new world champion then broke down in tears, replying: “Thank you guys, oh my God.

“You have made a kid’s dream come true, thank you so much.

“I love you guys. Thanks for everything, you deserve it. I love you mum, I love you dad. Thanks for everything. I’m not crying!”

“Thanks so much,” he said. “I love you, mum, I love you dad.”

The former karting prodigy rose to the occasion last season with some stunning displays to challenge for the title for the first time.

This year, Norris entered as the favourite, but teammate Piastri proved to be the faster McLaren for the first half of the season.

Norris maintained a top-three finish to secure the 2025 title

Norris could retire after winning first title

Australian Piastri had a comprehensive 34-point lead after winning round 15 in the Netherlands, after Norris crashed out in 18th.

Post-race, the Brit even suggested he could call it quits should he complete a comeback.

“It is sometimes good to go out when you’ve won like Nico [Rosberg]. Just one championship,” he said.

“You don’t have to do it anymore. You achieved a little goal and go and live an amazing life.”

When asked again about the 2026 season, he added: “I don’t know. Maybe. I might not be here next year. You never know.”

Norris ended Verstappen’s 1457-day reign

Final F1 Drivers' Championship standings

1) Lando Norris – 423

2) Max Verstappen – 421

3) Oscar Piastri – 410

Norris becomes Britain’s 11th F1 champion

Former Mercedes driver Rosberg famously retired a day after winning his first and only title in 2016.

Much like Norris, he was pushed to his limits by someone widely considered to be a better driver, in his case Lewis Hamilton rather than Norris’ rival Verstappen.

Norris’ demeanour has changed throughout the campaign as the pressure built, including unhelpful questions about his perceived mental struggles compared to the seemingly unflappable Piastri.

Yet he completely flipped that narrative as a mid-season suspension upgrade saw him reclaim the impetus over his teammate, who began to crumble with a string of poor performances, including a three-crash weekend in round 17 in Azerbaijan.

Back-to-back wins in rounds 20 and 21 in Mexico and Brazil allowed him to place a finger on the trophy.

Norris has joined Sir Jackie Stewart in the exclusive club of British F1 world champions

However, a double disqualification for McLaren in Las Vegas left Verstappen 24 points adrift.

The Red Bull driver then overtook Piastri in the standings to move to within just 12 points of the championship leader with victory in Qatar.

Norris held on, though, even with late mind games from Verstappen, who claimed he would have won the title long ago in a McLaren.

The British talent said his good friend and rival was talking nonsense, and proved his point in Abu Dhabi, joining the most legendary list in the world of motorsport.