He edged him out by only two points. A whisker. Sufficient, however, to be anointed world champion. At the end of a tense and far from predictable Abu Dhabi GP, which he concluded in third place, Lando Norris brought the drivers' title back to McLaren after a winless period that began in 2008 when it was a then very young Hamilton who won.
Born in Bristol, 26 years old, as soon as he crossed the finish line he thanked the team, but especially his parents, without whom he could never have embarked on this onerous journey. That was followed by rivers of tears and a collective emotion that overwhelmed everyone a bit, because when celebrating a new world title winner, one can easily identify with the moment.
In the midst of all this emotion, Max Verstappen behaved more than sportingly, winning the race after starting from pole, but never seeking the attention of the cameras once at the parc ferme, almost as if he wanted to step aside to leave the entire stage to the heir to the crown. And the same could be said for Oscar Piastri, second on the day and who was practically passed over in silence despite the fact that his was also an excellent season at least until the last handful of races when, for various reasons, he lost his way a bit.
As for Ferrari, it must be acknowledged that at Yas Marina Leclerc and Hamilton squeezed their SF25 to the maximum by producing some nice overtakes. While Charles was not caught unprepared at the start and secured fourth place, Lewis, having started from 14th on the grid, managed to push up to eighth not far behind Esteban Ocon (Haas), demonstrating that he had a few more revs to spare. In spite of this proud end of season performance, the Prancing Horse's championship was a disappointing one, proof of which is the fourth place in the constructors' standings and no wins, except for the one achieved by Ham in the China Sprint Race.
In contrast to the Scuderia, Mercedes, fifth in the Emirates with George Russell, who was slowed by an alleged brake problem in the early stages, and 15th with the Italian Antonelli, finished second overall among the constructors. As for Red Bull, on the other hand, third overall, in this 2025 season it could only count on Mad Max, since Yuki Tsunoda did not any better than fourteenth this Sunday either.
Finally, ninth place in the grand prix went to Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) and tenth to Lance Stroll (Aston Martin). Thus ends the hybrid period of the F1 Circus as we have known it since 2014, in view of the fact that from next March the single-seaters will be very different and will no longer even have the much-criticized DRS, to be replaced by a more complex technological system that, however, should make overtaking maneuvers more natural.
"This achievement is for mom and dad because they allowed me to pursue my dream. It's almost hard for me to say that I am champion. It hasn't been a perfect season, but that's how it is for everyone. After the Netherlands I was able to be more resilient and get more out of myself," stated the new world champion with emotion.
"I feel good. I was prepared for this outcome in that I would have to be lucky to win. As a team we optimized the weekend and dominated, so nothing to say. I'm not too sad," was the mature analysis of the outgoing world champion.
"It was a good battle, fun. I learned a lot from Lando himself. When things were going well I felt unstoppable, but I also learned how to handle the tough moments better," Piastri acknowledged.
For further details on the race here is the link to Motorsport.com.
