By Andy DeLay, Staff Writer, Seriously Fast Motorsports
YAS MARINA, Abu Dhabi — It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t easy, and it certainly wasn’t decided until the final checkered flag of the season flew under the desert lights. After 58 laps of white-knuckle driving, Lando Norris finally etched his name onto the trophy that every karter, rookie, and open-wheeled veteran dreams of holding: The Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship.
For those of us old enough to remember the heart-stopping drama of Brazil 2008, today felt eerily familiar. Just as Lewis Hamilton claimed McLaren’s last driver’s title in the dying moments of the season, Norris had to fight tooth and nail to bring the crown back to Woking, England.
The scenario going into Sunday’s finale was the stuff of a screenwriter’s dream. A three-way title fight—the first we’ve seen in years—between Norris, his teammate Oscar Piastri, and the relentless, four-time champion Max Verstappen.
Let’s give credit where it is due: Max Verstappen did exactly what champions do. He put his Red Bull on pole, he drove a flawless race, and he took his eighth victory of the season. When the Dutchman crossed the line, he had done everything in his power to steal a fifth consecutive title.
However, today, “everything” wasn’t quite enough.
Lando Norris, starting from the front row but slipping to third behind a charging Piastri, knew the math. He didn’t need to win the race; he just needed to keep his nose clean and finish on the podium. In a season defined by McLaren’s resurgence and occasionally questionable strategy calls, Norris drove with a maturity far beyond his 26 years. He resisted the urge to fight a risky battle with his teammate and kept a cool head as Verstappen disappeared up the road.
Crossing the line in third place, just seconds behind Piastri, Norris secured the title by a razor-thin margin of two points—423 to Verstappen’s 421.
”It’s surreal,” Norris said over the radio, his voice cracking through the emotion. “We did it. We actually did it.”
This championship is a testament to patience. We’ve watched Lando grow from the giggling rookie of 2019 into a steely, consistent operator. He weathered the years of McLaren’s midfield mediocrity, resisted offers from rival teams, and trusted the process led by Zak Brown and Andrea Stella.
With McLaren having already wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship back in Singapore, the team has now completed the “Double”—a feat that seemed impossible just three years ago.
For the traditionalists among us, seeing the #1 plate potentially moving to a McLaren next year brings back memories of Prost, Senna, and Hakkinen. The “Papaya Rules” era is officially here, and if this season was any indication, 2026 is going to be an absolute barnburner.
Enjoy the break, folks. History was made today.
Image via F1 Social Media