F1 Season Wrap: We are the Champions!

When the spectacular fireworks set off in the final moments of the Yas Marina circuit, Formula One heralded a new champion. The 26-year-old Brit, Lando Norris.

The 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris delivering their very best effort. But there could be only one winner, the one with the most amount of points amassed across 24 rounds, across the planet! It was close. In fact, throughout the ups and downs of this super-competitive season, driver errors, team blunders, disqualifications and crashes resulted in Norris sealing his maiden crown just two points ahead of Verstappen. 

Points leader for most of the season, Piastri, ended up in third overall. It could have been his maiden title if his pit-strategy luck and a few controversial team calls had gone his way. The championship, though, did feel like it was always meant to be Norris’s. Things can get mighty tricky at the top. Big ticket sponsors, big team bosses and the powers-that-be sometimes want the script to play out as intended — with no twists in the tail.

McLaren is the dominant force of 2025. Their all-conquering MCL39 finished on the podium 34 times. Compare that with defending champions Red Bull’s tally of 15, and you realise that although Verstappen finished the season as Runners-up, he had no business to!

The Dutchman’s sensational victories, all eight of them including the final round, brought him back into play for the title when most had settled for a McLaren whitewash. Asked if this was the best he has ever driven in Formula 1, the four-time world champion replied: “Yeah, I think so, I mean I have no regrets about my season, I think the performance has been strong. I’ve hated this car at times, but I’ve also loved it at times, and I always try to get the most of it even in the difficult weekends that we have had.”

This season sees the end of a set of regulations introduced in 2022, which Red Bull mastered. 2026 will see a new chapter with smaller, lighter and more agile cars that have no Drag Reduction System (DRS). There's going to be more emphasis on power units and active aerodynamics. It’ll be fascinating to see which team of engineers crack the new regulations and which new champion can deliver the crown! 

Bring on the new era ASAP.

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