Norris survives the decider as McLaren complete the double

Three drivers arrived in Abu Dhabi with a chance of becoming World Champion. Max Verstappen won the race, Oscar Piastri finished second, and Lando Norris took the third place he needed. After 24 Grands Prix and six Sprints, Norris won his first title by only two points.

It was not the route McLaren would have expected. The team had the fastest car for much of the year and comfortably retained the Constructors’ Championship, but Piastri and Norris took points from one another while Verstappen recovered from a 104-point deficit after the Dutch Grand Prix. The result was Formula 1’s closest Drivers’ Championship since 2008.

Race Calendar

The championship again covered 24 rounds, from Australia in March to Abu Dhabi in December, with no cancellations. China, Miami, Belgium, the United States, São Paulo, and Qatar hosted the six Sprint sessions.

Drivers and Constructors

After an unusually quiet 2024, the 2025 grid changed almost everywhere.

• Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes to join Ferrari, creating the most high-profile driver transfer of the season.
• Carlos Sainz moved to Williams after losing his Ferrari seat.
• Andrea Kimi Antonelli stepped into Hamilton’s place at Mercedes.
• Liam Lawson began the season at Red Bull Racing, while Isack Hadjar joined Racing Bulls.
• Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman formed a new pairing at Haas.
• Gabriel Bortoleto debuted for Kick Sauber, and Jack Doohan started the year with Alpine.

The changes continued after the opening race. Yuki Tsunoda replaced Lawson at Red Bull from Japan, Lawson returned to Racing Bulls, and Franco Colapinto took over Jack Doohan’s Alpine seat from Imola.

2025 Season Analysis

McLaren won 14 of the 24 Grands Prix, split evenly between Norris and Piastri. Verstappen won eight for Red Bull and George Russell added two for Mercedes. Ferrari, despite the attention surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s arrival, did not win a Grand Prix.

The numbers also explain why the Drivers’ title became complicated. McLaren had the best two-car result, but its victories and podiums were divided almost evenly. Verstappen had no team-mate taking wins from him and remained close enough to punish every McLaren mistake.

Several results shaped the championship:

• Norris finally converted McLaren’s pace into a world title, but only by surviving an aggressive late-season Verstappen run.
• Piastri won seven races and remained a genuine part of the championship picture for much of the year, giving McLaren a stronger two-car challenge than any rival.
• Russell delivered both Mercedes wins, in Canada and Singapore, while rookie Antonelli reached the podium three times.
• Hamilton won the Sprint in China but did not reach a Grand Prix podium during his first Ferrari season.
• Williams finished fifth, with two podiums for Sainz and much more consistent scoring from Albon.

Points, Podiums, Sprints and DNFs

Norris led the podium count with 18, followed by Piastri on 16 and Verstappen on 15. Together, the McLaren drivers occupied 34 of the 72 available podium places. Russell reached the top three nine times, while Leclerc managed seven in a Ferrari that never won a Grand Prix.

Verstappen and Russell had the most top-ten finishes with 23 each. Piastri recorded 22, Norris 21, and Leclerc 20. Norris lost valuable results through retirements in Canada and the Netherlands, then both McLarens were disqualified in Las Vegas.

The Sprint results were almost as close as the championship. Verstappen collected 32 points, Russell 30, and the two McLaren drivers 29 each. Hamilton’s China victory helped him to 21 Sprint points—an unusually large part of his season total.

Norris and Piastri each set six fastest laps. Unlike previous seasons, these laps did not carry a bonus point: Formula 1 removed that rule for 2025. The chart therefore counts outright fastest laps rather than points earned from them.

Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Fernando Alonso had the most retirements with five each. At the other end, Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, Tsunoda, and Ocon retired only once. Disqualifications are kept separate here, which is why the two McLarens in Las Vegas do not appear as DNFs.

Point Progression

Norris led after Australia, but Piastri’s run of four wins in five races moved him ahead by Saudi Arabia. After winning at Zandvoort, Piastri held the largest lead of the year and Verstappen sat 104 points behind him.

The final third changed everything. Verstappen won five of the last eight races, Piastri went six consecutive rounds without a podium, and Norris recovered the McLaren lead with victories in Mexico and São Paulo. The double disqualification in Las Vegas pulled Verstappen even closer. All three reached Abu Dhabi with a mathematical chance; Norris’s third place settled it by two points.

There was far less suspense in the Constructors’ Championship. McLaren scored heavily with both cars from the opening round and secured the title in Singapore with six Grands Prix remaining. Mercedes narrowly beat Red Bull to second, while Ferrari fell from second in 2024 to fourth.

Conclusions and Final Standings

Norris became World Champion with 423 points, only two ahead of Verstappen and 13 ahead of Piastri. His margin was the smallest since Lewis Hamilton beat Felipe Massa by one point in 2008.

McLaren’s second consecutive Constructors’ title was much clearer. Its 833 points were 364 more than Mercedes, with Red Bull a further 18 behind. The team had dominated the year; the surprise was that its two drivers and a relentless Verstappen still carried the individual contest to the final laps.

Note: Results were checked against the official FIA championship classification. The charts were generated from the Jolpica F1 API, the maintained successor to Ergast.