Lando Norris called his shot

When Lando Norris took the checkered flag at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix a year ago, not only did he deliver a victory in the final race of the season, and not only did he deliver the first Constructors’ Championship for McLaren since 1998, but he also delivered a statement of intent.

Norris made good on that promise today.

When he crossed the finish line at Yas Marina a year ago, after congratulating the entire team Norris then said these nine words: “Next year is going to be my year, too.”

Next year arrived in Abu Dhabi moments ago.

Norris entered the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the 2025 season, with a chance to clinch his first Drivers’ Championship. After qualifying second behind Max Verstappen, Norris was in solid position to enjoy a Sunday drive, finish on the podium, and clinch his title.

But if you thought the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was going to be a casual Sunday drive to a title for Norris, you thought wrong.

Rather than fighting forward against Verstappen after the start, Norris instead had to contend with his teammate behind him in third. Oscar Piastri began the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the C3 hard tire — while Verstappen and Norris were on the mediums — but wound his MCL39 around the outside of Norris at the start of the second lap.

“We’ve just seen the pass of the season, surely,” exclaimed David Coulthard in the F1TV commentary box.

Norris settled into third behind Verstappen and Piastri, but could not break away from a hard-charging Charles Leclerc behind him. Shortly after Mercedes called George Russell in for a pit stop, McLaren gave the same command to the championship leader. Norris came into the pits on Lap 17, and the team bolted on a fresh set of hard tires during a rapid 2.1-second stop, getting him back into the fight in a flash.

“Superb stop. 2.1 seconds under pressure,” highlighted Jolyon Palmer on the F1TV broadcast.

However, Norris came out in traffic, and his championship hopes rested on how quickly he could clear the cars in front of him. He cleared Kimi Antonelli in short order to get up to P8, then wound around former teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. to get into P7.

This was his championship moment.

Then on Lap 19, he ticked off Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson in a single move to get back to P5. Lawson tried to respond on Lap 20, but Norris held the inside line and kept the position.

Then came the next championship moment for Norris, and one that ultimately was left out of his hands.

But who was in front of Norris after Esteban Ocon pitted out of fourth?

Yuki Tsunoda, Verstappen’s outgoing teammate. In the days leading up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the question was asked multiple times: Could Tsunoda do for Verstappen what Sergio Pérez did back in 2021, which is hold up the championship rival?

Would he?

Norris got within DRS range of Tsunoda on Lap 23, and a “key moment” in the F1 world championship was upon us, according to Alex Jacques in the F1TV commentary box. How quickly could Norris get past Tsunoda, or would the outgoing Red Bull driver execute his rear-gunner role behind Verstappen to perfection?

It did not take long for the McLaren driver to stick the pass. Norris dropped the hammer to the inside of Tsunoda and rocketed by the Red Bull on Lap 23, jumping up into P3. Verstappen responded with a pit stop to switch to the hard tires, handing the race lead to Piastri.

However, there was more to the pass.

Norris moved well to the inside as Tsunoda tried to defend the position, and race officials noted the move for Norris potentially leaving the track to gain an advantage. Would race officials intervene?

They would, but in the form of a five-second penalty for Tsunoda for “more than one change of direction.” The investigation into Norris was waved off, with “no further investigation” from the officials.

That sound you could hear at Yas Marina was the collective exhale of the McLaren team members along pit wall, in the garage, and from their fans in the grandstands.

Still, the race was not over. At the end of Lap 40, McLaren called Norris in for a second pit stop, the last of his season, to cover off a pit stop from Leclerc behind him. The team got him in and out of the stall in a tidy 2.4-second stop with a fresh set of hard tires, and he rejoined the fight still in P3 and in championship position.

On the track, Verstappen worked around Piastri, who had yet to pit, and was on the track with 41-lap-old hard tires. McLaren then called Piastri into the pit lane for his mandatory pit stop and tire switch, and the team bolted on a set of medium tires for his final stint during a 2.2-second stop.

As the lap ticked down, Verstappen remained in the lead after Piastri’s stop, holding a 23-second advantage over the Australian driver. Norris was comfortably in third, with over four seconds from the rear of his MCL39 to the front wing of Leclerc’s SF25. Verstappen was also on older hard tires, thanks to the dueling pit stops from McLaren.

And Norris also had his teammate in front of him, potentially bringing team orders into play.

With ten laps to go, Verstappen had nearly a 20-second lead over Piastri in second, with Norris more than four seconds behind his teammate. But the real fight was in the standings, and if the three drivers crossed the line in that order, Norris would be champion by just two points over Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver was on the radio, asking if Leclerc was closing the gap to Norris for P3. If Norris were to slide back to fourth, and Verstappen were to take the win, the Red Bull driver would take his fifth Drivers’ Championship.

But while Leclerc was closing, the gap was not coming down quickly enough for Verstappen’s title hopes.

F1TV cameras then cut to Cisca Wauman, the British driver’s mother, watching on nervously in the McLaren garage. Her son was just laps away from becoming a World Champion.

Norris extended his lead over Leclerc to over seven seconds with just five laps remaining, and he was closing the gap to Piastri in front of him as well. Verstappen remained in the lead, but Norris was closing in on the title.

There were some fierce battles behind the leaders, including a scrap between Ocon and Lewis Hamilton as well as a fight between Gabriel Bortoleto and Stroll. Mid-table points were on offer, but the story remained the fight at the front.

Verstappen ultimately took the race win ahead of Piastri and Norris, but the British driver finished third, enough to claim his first Drivers’ Championship.

The race brings to an end one of F1’s most thrilling campaigns. While Norris and Piastri were at the front of the field deep into the summer, Verstappen’s incredible late-season charge only added to his status as a legend in the sport. Despite being 104 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver pushed Norris and Piastri to the brink, and the final laps of the season.

His victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix gave him eight on the year, ahead of both Norris and Piastri.

That effort ended just two points short of a title, but it will still be talked about for decades.

As for Piastri, in just his third season on the grid, the Australian driver showed championship mettle of his own, from his comeback effort in his home race at the start of the year to the big advantage he built in the points over a strong first half of the schedule.

Yet in the end, the title belonged to Norris.

“I love you guys, thank you for everything,” said Norris over the radio. “I’m crying.”

The title caps off what has been a magical ride for Norris and McLaren since the British driver joined the team’s junior program in 2017, and joined the F1 grid back in 2019. That journey has seen Norris and McLaren fight forward from the back of the field, starting in 2023 when they began the year mired at the back of the grid.

To that point, when I first sat down with Norris, for an interview ahead of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he outlined how he and rookie teammate Oscar Piastri were simply fighting for points:

“Tough question. Points now is what we’re aiming for,” said Norris about his expectations for the 2023 season. “I think that’s a realistic thing. We’ve got four very quick teams now, Aston have made that big step forward, and there’s eight spaces on the grid which get taken up very quickly. It’s a tough battle behind, we’re very close, it’s a good battle with Alpine, they were very quick in Australia too, and definitely a step ahead of us.

“But we’re in that fight to try and score some points,” he added. “So it’s to stay out of trouble, especially in a sprint race like Baku, points for us is the target for now, just to take those steps forward every now and then, we’ve got some big upgrades coming later in the season, so keep chipping away and keep working at them, and just take it one race at a time for now.”

Now, he stands atop the Formula 1 world.

The race brings to an end one of F1’s most thrilling campaigns. While Norris and Piastri were at the front of the field deep into the summer, Verstappen’s incredible late-season charge only added to his status as a legend in the sport. Despite being 104 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver pushed Norris and Piastri to the brink, and the final laps of the season.

His victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix gave him eight on the year, ahead of both Norris and Piastri.

That effort ended just two points short of a title, but it will still be talked about for decades.

As for Piastri, in just his third season on the grid, the Australian driver showed championship mettle of his own, from his comeback effort in his home race at the start of the year to the big advantage he built in the points over a strong first half of the schedule.

Yet in the end, the title belonged to Norris.

It was not long ago that Norris and McLaren were just fighting for points.

Tonight, he is a World Champion.