F1 Abu Dhabi GP: Lando Norris topped world champion as Max Verstappen wins race

Lando Norris gained the 2025 System 1 world championship after ending third on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale, as Max Verstappen took victory over Oscar Piastri.

Norris solely wanted to safe a top-three end result to safe the championship, having began the race 12 factors away from Verstappen. And, though Norris misplaced a spot to Piastri on the opening lap and thus got here underneath heavy stress from Charles Leclerc in a while, he was in a position to keep in third to clinch his first world title.

Verstappen loved a classic, serene drive to victory; with Piastri behind him as an alternative of Norris, any anticipated hold-up play was not realised. McLaren’s choice to start out Piastri on the exhausting tyre had ensured that the offset technique spaced out the entrance three between the stops, and the Australian went lengthy into the race to pit on the forty first lap as soon as he was handed by Verstappen.

On contemporary mediums, Piastri went after Verstappen in an effort to win the race. However Verstappen’s exhausting tyre tempo was sturdy sufficient to take care of a wholesome lead as Piastri introduced the hole all the way down to 12.6s.

After batting away the early problem from Leclerc, who put him underneath heavy scrutiny with DRS, Norris had stopped to cowl off the Monegasque. This left the Briton in a sea of site visitors, however he was decisive; he lower by Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Alex Albon briefly order, then scythed by Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll in a two-for-one transfer at Flip 6 to mitigate the impact of the yet-to-stop runners forward.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Yuki Tsunoda, Purple Bull Racing Staff

Photograph by: Andy Hone/ LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures

Nevertheless, Yuki Tsunoda’s Purple Bull proved to be the subsequent impediment. Instructed by his race engineer to “do what you’ll be able to” to carry up Norris, Tsunoda weaved throughout the circuit on the straight between Flip 5 and 6, forcing Norris off-track as he was finishing his overtake. The overtake itself was deemed positive by the stewards, though Tsunoda was handed a five-second penalty for making multiple change in path.

As soon as Norris was freed from the site visitors, he may begin to eke out a consolation zone as Leclerc’s early-stint tempo started to subside versus the McLaren. Since overlaying off Leclerc was merely Norris’ precedence, he was instructed to cease for a second time on lap 40 as Leclerc switched to a two-stopper on the earlier tour. Leclerc dropped behind the one-stopping George Russell, guaranteeing that Norris may get out of the pits with third intact, however the Ferrari’s early-stint tempo on the mediums had given Norris a late fright.

Thus, Norris responded to take care of the hole at round 4 seconds, which grew when Leclerc’s tyre life started to drop off within the remaining 5 laps – and it was merely a case of Norris holding on to make sure the title was his. Such was his tempo, nevertheless, that he received inside three seconds of Piastri earlier than being instructed to take slightly extra simply within the remaining excursions.

Regardless of pitting and popping out behind, Leclerc was 25s away from Russell because the Mercedes struggled with degradation after 44 laps on the exhausting tyre. Fernando Alonso was an extra 18 seconds again, his sixth place guaranteeing that Aston Martin clinched seventh within the constructors’ championship forward of Haas. Esteban Ocon ran to seventh, after making a decisive Flip 9 re-pass on Lewis Hamilton on the 52nd lap because the Ferrari broke previous at Flip 6.

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Hamilton had recovered to eighth after being eradicated in Q1, his two-stopper yielding a factors end to log off on a troublesome first 12 months with Ferrari.

Lance Stroll and Ollie Bearman completed ninth and tenth on the street, however each got five-second penalties for making multiple change in path of their on-track battle. This promoted Nico Hulkenberg to ninth, whereas Stroll was labeled tenth forward of Gabriel Bortoleto.

F1 Abu Dhabi GP – race outcomes

Photographs from Abu Dhabi GP – Race

Lando Norris, McLaren