🔗 Share this article Lando Norris Secures Maiden F1 World Championship in Yas Marina In Spite Of Max Verstappen's Grand Prix Triumph. With a performance full of gutsy racing, the McLaren driver has clinched his debut F1 world title by achieving third place at the Yas Marina race. A podium was all that was required for the 26-year-old driver, even though Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the race and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri came home in second. Norris executed precisely what was necessary in an extremely high-pressure race at the Abu Dhabi track, featuring a number of audacious overtakes, with impeccable execution from both himself and his McLaren squad. A Historic Achievement for Britain and McLaren By winning his first world championship, Norris is now the eleventh British driver to accomplish the feat. This ends the team's drivers’ championship wait, which stretched back to 2008 when Lewis Hamilton was their last champion. Furthermore, it had been 27 years since McLaren last secured the championship double back in 1998. It represents a stunning turnaround for the Woking-based outfit, from a nadir in the middle of the last decade when they twice finished ninth in the standings. The comeback has been spearheaded by team principal Zak Brown and, more recently, by Andrea Stella, who has built an well-drilled outfit with a very fast car. The new champion performs a celebratory spin after winning the world championship. A Tale of Two McLaren For his teammate Oscar Piastri, who had been the favorite for a large part of the campaign, there was obvious frustration at stumbling in the closing stages. Several of difficult weekends and mistakes, including crashing out in Baku, proved costly. Nevertheless, he finishes the season having shown he is also of champion caliber. To have been so competitive in only his third season in F1, with multiple victories, remains very impressive. Max Verstappen too had been brilliant to force the fight to the wire. He did all he could in Abu Dhabi with the race victory, but after fighting back from a 104-point deficit in August, he did not quite have the points to overhaul Norris, ending up just a handful of points behind. Closing it Out with Clinical Execution He secured his success with clinical precision to win the championship that had been within reach but eluded him as McLaren struggled at the last two rounds. These included a double disqualification in Las Vegas and then an questionable tactical decision in Qatar. This represents no little achievement for the driver in his seventh year in F1, all of them with McLaren. He remained loyal to the squad even during some difficult periods, believing they would come good. That belief was vindicated in Abu Dhabi. He has done a hugely impressive job to persist with his task, keeping his cool and confidence even when under pressure. After losing the lead to Piastri earlier, he nonetheless worked at getting the most from the car's potential. Norris chases down the Red Bull of another competitor during the grand prix. The Title-Deciding Race At the start, Verstappen held his first place through turn one, but the main contenders avoided contact. Piastri, using the hard tyre, was aggressive and made a spectacular move to go round the outside of Norris to take second place. It showed the McLarens were allowed to fight, but left Norris under pressure from the Charles Leclerc. The first round pit stops saw Norris emerge in traffic, but he overtook rivals within a lap and showed great composure in his race craft. During the race, he made an incredibly bold move to overtake two cars in one swoop, climbing to fourth and closing on Verstappen's teammate. The rival team told their driver to hold up Norris, leading to a dramatic assault where Norris burst up the inside line, almost leaving the track. This moment was looked at by the race officials, with several nerve-wracking laps elapsing before a time penalty for his rival and exoneration for Norris was decided. This decisive charge without being held up was vital to his title fight. Contrasting Fates As Norris was crowned the first British driver to take the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2020, the contrast in fortunes between the two was stark. While the new generation fought for the title, Hamilton, the veteran, could only finish eighth place in Abu Dhabi, a disappointing conclusion to a dismal season with Ferrari. His first season with the Italian team had been met by excitement but has yielded what was comfortably his worst season ever, finishing sixth in the championship without a top-three finish. He has appeared jaded in the closing races and will look to rebuild over the off-season. The champion revels on his car after being crowned world champion.
With a performance full of gutsy racing, the McLaren driver has clinched his debut F1 world title by achieving third place at the Yas Marina race. A podium was all that was required for the 26-year-old driver, even though Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the race and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri came home in second. Norris executed precisely what was necessary in an extremely high-pressure race at the Abu Dhabi track, featuring a number of audacious overtakes, with impeccable execution from both himself and his McLaren squad. A Historic Achievement for Britain and McLaren By winning his first world championship, Norris is now the eleventh British driver to accomplish the feat. This ends the team's drivers’ championship wait, which stretched back to 2008 when Lewis Hamilton was their last champion. Furthermore, it had been 27 years since McLaren last secured the championship double back in 1998. It represents a stunning turnaround for the Woking-based outfit, from a nadir in the middle of the last decade when they twice finished ninth in the standings. The comeback has been spearheaded by team principal Zak Brown and, more recently, by Andrea Stella, who has built an well-drilled outfit with a very fast car. The new champion performs a celebratory spin after winning the world championship. A Tale of Two McLaren For his teammate Oscar Piastri, who had been the favorite for a large part of the campaign, there was obvious frustration at stumbling in the closing stages. Several of difficult weekends and mistakes, including crashing out in Baku, proved costly. Nevertheless, he finishes the season having shown he is also of champion caliber. To have been so competitive in only his third season in F1, with multiple victories, remains very impressive. Max Verstappen too had been brilliant to force the fight to the wire. He did all he could in Abu Dhabi with the race victory, but after fighting back from a 104-point deficit in August, he did not quite have the points to overhaul Norris, ending up just a handful of points behind. Closing it Out with Clinical Execution He secured his success with clinical precision to win the championship that had been within reach but eluded him as McLaren struggled at the last two rounds. These included a double disqualification in Las Vegas and then an questionable tactical decision in Qatar. This represents no little achievement for the driver in his seventh year in F1, all of them with McLaren. He remained loyal to the squad even during some difficult periods, believing they would come good. That belief was vindicated in Abu Dhabi. He has done a hugely impressive job to persist with his task, keeping his cool and confidence even when under pressure. After losing the lead to Piastri earlier, he nonetheless worked at getting the most from the car's potential. Norris chases down the Red Bull of another competitor during the grand prix. The Title-Deciding Race At the start, Verstappen held his first place through turn one, but the main contenders avoided contact. Piastri, using the hard tyre, was aggressive and made a spectacular move to go round the outside of Norris to take second place. It showed the McLarens were allowed to fight, but left Norris under pressure from the Charles Leclerc. The first round pit stops saw Norris emerge in traffic, but he overtook rivals within a lap and showed great composure in his race craft. During the race, he made an incredibly bold move to overtake two cars in one swoop, climbing to fourth and closing on Verstappen's teammate. The rival team told their driver to hold up Norris, leading to a dramatic assault where Norris burst up the inside line, almost leaving the track. This moment was looked at by the race officials, with several nerve-wracking laps elapsing before a time penalty for his rival and exoneration for Norris was decided. This decisive charge without being held up was vital to his title fight. Contrasting Fates As Norris was crowned the first British driver to take the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2020, the contrast in fortunes between the two was stark. While the new generation fought for the title, Hamilton, the veteran, could only finish eighth place in Abu Dhabi, a disappointing conclusion to a dismal season with Ferrari. His first season with the Italian team had been met by excitement but has yielded what was comfortably his worst season ever, finishing sixth in the championship without a top-three finish. He has appeared jaded in the closing races and will look to rebuild over the off-season. The champion revels on his car after being crowned world champion.