Lando Norris sealed his first Formula 1 World Championship after locking in a crucial third-place finish, narrowly beating Max Verstappen by two points in a thrilling season finale in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina, December 7.
A tight 12-point cushion was carried by Norris heading into the finale after lagging behind fellow contenders Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri in Qatar last week, giving him a slim advantage over Verstappen in the season-ending showdown.
As a result, only a podium finish was required for the McLaren driver to clinch the championship, placing enormous pressure on his execution throughout the weekend.
Momentum was established on Saturday when Norris qualified second, edging teammate Oscar Piastri and lining up just behind pole-sitter Verstappen.
At lights out, however, a difficult start was endured by Norris, as Piastri swept past him around Turn Nine to demote the Briton to third.
In the early laps, Charles Leclerc applied continuous pressure, remaining within DRS range and forcing Norris to balance tyre management with defensive awareness.
A wave of early pit stops then prompted McLaren to react on lap 16, and a rapid service allowed Norris to rejoin ahead of Leclerc despite emerging into a tight DRS train.
Decisive moves through traffic were delivered by Norris, including a tense overtake on Yuki Tsunoda that later drew no penalty despite McLaren boss Zak Brown labeling Red Bull’s defending as “dangerous.”
With the traffic cleared, Norris found a steady rhythm, building his buffer to more than six seconds over Leclerc.
However, Ferrari’s final pit stop with 18 laps remaining forced McLaren to respond, and another flawless 2.4-second execution kept Norris safely in contention.
Although Verstappen went on to win the race and Piastri secured second, a late push from Leclerc was controlled by Norris through disciplined tyre management and composure under pressure.
As the chequered flag fell, third place was secured, and Norris completed a remarkable seven-year climb to the top of Formula 1, becoming the 11th British driver to capture the Drivers’ Championship after a season finale for the ages.
Article by Fiona Rubenecia