Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025: Race Review

With only a podium position needed to guarantee his first world championship, a two-point advantage ultimately enabled Lando Norris to seize the title, in spite of stellar individual performances by Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Key Moments

It was a dream start for four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who was able to get away cleanly during his racing start.

Oscar Piastri too delivered a promising performance from the off-set, overtaking Lando Norris on the hard tyre, and leaving his teammate to fend off Charles Leclerc, whose attacking demeanor advocated a desire to end the season with a podium position.

Despite a few early attempts, Charles Leclerc ultimately failed to convert the overtake, which would have otherwise seen Lando Norris lose the title to Max Verstappen, had the race concluded with the Dutchman victorious.

After pitting during Lap 17, Norris emerged behind a train of back-markers; an overtaking feat pivotal for championship contention.

Although accomplished with ease, a controversial incident emerged during Lap 23 between Yuki Tsunoda and Lando Norris, with the British driver going completely off track to overtake the Red Bull.

This led to Tsunoda being handed a five-second penalty with “no further action for leaving the track and gaining an advantage” conversely gifted to Norris.

While this served the McLaren driver well in the (literal) race for his first championship, I do believe that the FIA were merely not brave enough to do what was required, in also providing Norris with a penalty; the reminiscent story of the 2025 season.

Had this penalty have been awarded, I am confident that Max Verstappen would have been able to add a fifth title to his collection and indeed cement himself as one of the greatest of all time; a controversial feat the FIA were not brave enough to repeat at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

As the only front-runner left to pit, Oscar Piastri was eventually overtaken by Max Verstappen during Lap 41, just one lap before being put on medium tyres.

Ultimately, despite winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen could do little more to retain his world championship status, with a two-point advantage enabling Lando Norris to emerge reigning champion from the 2025 season.

This proved bittersweet for the Dutchman and Piastri, having finished the race ahead of the 2025 drivers’ world champion, in P1 and P2 positions respectively.

Lando Norris may have finished the race in P3 position, but ultimately took home first place as far as the championship is concerned.

Crucially, those ‘silly’ two-points gained by overtaking Kimi Antonelli in the closing stages of the Qatar Grand Prix really did make all the difference, in cementing Norris’ hopes and dreams.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025: Final Thoughts

In a Grand Prix that saw all twenty drivers finish their race for the first time since Singapore, the tension of a looming three-way fight for drivers’ championship status took center stage.

While Lando Norris should be praised for developing his mental agility during the second half of the 2025 season – particularly under such heavy media scrutiny – I do not feel that his title was earnt in the same way that Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri have fought for it throughout this season.

Norris has been consistently prioritised by McLaren, while his Australian counterpart was gaslit into following the Papaya Rules way; a way sold to function to maintain equality between their two drivers, but work very differently in reality.

Despite his talents, the reigning British world champion simply cannot say that this title has been earnt on merit, which in-turn gives its precidence less credence.

A championship title nonetheless, it is certainly not one that I would feel completely dignified in holding, given the often-biased events of the 2025 season.

It goes without saying, that Lando Norris is marmite; those that love him adore him – with a stand produced in his name at the British Silverstone circuit, and an army of fans curated in his own right – with those that oppose him feeling just as passionate in their pursuits.

Piastri and Verstappen fans have even ‘joined forces’ in recent weeks, uniting over the agreement that they would be happy with the title being awarded to anybody other than the British driver.

This decable is clear to see in any Formula One fan forum or comment section online, with many denoting hatred towards Zac Brown and the frustrations felt in the enactment of Papaya Rules over the course of the season.

With this being said, I am deverstated for Oscar Piastri, who has remained cool, calm and collected throughout the 2025 campaign and curated a promising beginning and end to the season.

Sadly, however, it was too little too late to make up for those faltering races in-between.

Having to keep his team happy for the long-term, it is evident that his laissez faire approach to Papaya Rules was ultimately the difference between first and third in the drivers’ championship title fight.

Max Verstappen must too be applauded for being able to bring his points difference back from 104 to just 2, over the last eight race weekends. He has certainly produced a title fight for the ages, and gave everyone a reason to remember why he is one of the greats in the process of doing so.

Like the true four-time world champion he is, the Dutchman fought to the end and should be proud of the hard and grueling stint he put in, particularly during the second half of the season, which played out in spectacular fashion and showcased his once-in-a-lifetime talents in its entirety.

With the 2025 season now concluded, I am excited to see how the new regulations in place, and Cadillac joining the grid, affects the overall development of the Formula One series, as we look ahead to the 2026 season.