McLaren player Lando Norris found his way to the podium but etched his name on the list of World Champions on Sunday, the final day of the 2025 Formula One season. The British driver pushed the paddle from second position in this year's final race, behind the 4-time World Champion Max Verstappen. Oscar Piastri, Norris's teammate, kept defending his third position in the first couple of corners until he went for a position swap with Norris from the outside.
While the McLaren boys were challenging Verstappen, 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton was struggling to stay within the top 10.
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In the 17th lap, Norris had to make a pit stop, costing him 2.1 seconds. Yet he quickly caught the pace with his freshly installed hard compound tyres, all thanks to the rapid response of the pit crew. Then he started driving past players like he was playing in his own league. From there, first he left Kimi Antonelli behind and then the McLaren player surprised Carlos Sainz by taking his 7th position. All of that happened just in lap 18.
On Sunday evening, the asphalt of Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi felt a new champion fighting for the throne. By the 23rd lap, Lando Norris regained his third position just behind Piastri, and both the McLaren boys continued chasing Verstappen. Yet Verstappen's experience in leading the game has crowned him the champion of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but Norris's consistency and swift use of tactics presented him with the Title of World Champion and the much-needed third position.
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After Norris's finish line crossing, the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of McLaren Racing Zak Brown, radioed in and said, "This is Zak from McLaren, is this the World Champion Hotline?" The 2025 World Champion title holder was in tears after delivering the much-needed win for McLaren since 2008.
