2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale: Norris clinches the 2025 world title with third as Verstappen wins the final race

On the evening of December 7, China Standard Time (UTC+8), the 2025 F1 season concluded with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit under the night sky, and a new champion was crowned: Norris (McLaren) finished third to secure his long-awaited first world title.

His final margin over Verstappen (Red Bull), who converted pole position into victory, was just two points. After overcoming countless difficulties in the six years since his debut in 2019, the 26-year-old British driver finally reached the pinnacle of F1.

To complete his comeback and claim a fifth consecutive title, Verstappen needed to meet the demanding conditions of “winning” and “Norris finishing fourth or lower”. He made his intentions clear from the moment the race started.

As the lights went out, he moved sharply across to cover Norris, who had started second. Having retained the lead, he executed a one-stop strategy perfectly, converting pole into a season-leading eighth victory—but his car’s lack of competitiveness until the middle of the season ultimately left him with regret at the final hurdle.

Piastri (McLaren), in third, started on hard tyres but boldly overtook Norris at Turn 9 on lap 1 to move into second. It was a step towards overturning the championship standings, but he could go no further.

Russell’s (Mercedes) sluggish getaway allowed Leclerc (Ferrari) to move into fourth immediately after the start, giving him an important role in determining whether Verstappen would win the championship. He repeatedly moved within DRS range of Norris but never found the decisive opportunity to pass, finishing fourth.

There were no further major changes at the front, with Norris firmly holding on to third. Despite his perfect race management, Verstappen ultimately fell just short of retaining his crown.

In his final race for Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda sacrificed his own race to help his teammate turn the championship around, taking on a “supporting role”.

He started on hard tyres and adopted a strategy of extending his first stint, attempting to hold up Norris after the McLaren driver had made his pit stop and rejoined the track.

The two met on the straight approaching Turn 6: Tsunoda weaved from side to side in a determined defence, while Norris forced his way past, even taking all four wheels off the track to complete the move.

The stewards’ ruling was particularly harsh on Tsunoda—Norris faced no action for the overtake, while Tsunoda received a five-second penalty and one penalty point for “making multiple changes of direction”.

On lap 33, he switched to medium tyres and served his time penalty, rejoining in 17th. He climbed as high as 12th, but rivals on different tyre strategies passed him one after another in the closing stages, leaving him to take the chequered flag in 14th. Having committed himself fully to the team effort, Tsunoda brought his time at Red Bull to a bitter conclusion outside the points.

The result left Tsunoda with a career-best season total of 33 points, but his 17th place in the standings matched his second season for his worst championship finish, marking the end of a chapter in his F1 journey.

Behind the championship battle, there was further drama, with the final order not settled until after the race.

Alonso (Aston Martin) showed his determination with a sixth-place finish, but it was ultimately not enough to overtake Racing Bulls, sixth in the constructors’ standings.

Meanwhile, post-race investigations resulted in time penalties for Stroll (Aston Martin) and Bearman (Haas) for “excessive changes of direction while defending”.

The order consequently changed: Hülkenberg was promoted to ninth in Sauber’s final race, earning valuable points for the team ahead of a new era next year, when it will “compete as Audi”.

Stroll briefly dropped out of the points, but the application of Bearman’s time penalty brought him back into 10th, allowing him to salvage a single point by the narrowest of margins.