McLaren’s Lando Norris Wins First-Ever F1 World Championship

After seven seasons since making his F1 debut, Lando Norris has won the 2025 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.

The title fight came down to the last race of the season, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with three contenders — Norris, 26; four-time World Champion and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, 28; and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, 24 — all hoping to take home the top prize.

Going into the race, Norris led the World Championship, followed by Verstappen and Piastri. But the latter two drivers weren’t far behind, especially the four-time World Champion, as he had made a fierce comeback in the Red Bull car in the second half of the season.

But after a long 58 laps on the track in the hot desert on Sunday, Verstappen came in first place, followed by Piastri in second and Norris in third. However, even with a third-place finish at the final race of the season, the latter was still able to claim his first Drivers’ Championship by two points.

Norris’ win marks the first time a McLaren driver has won the World Championship since Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time Drivers’ Champion who currently drives for Ferrari, in 2008.

The Hollywood Reporter chatted with the eldest McLaren driver last year, and when asked where he hopes to see himself in five years, he replied, “Hopefully still in Formula 1 and hopefully a champion by then.” So it looks like that goal came a bit earlier, which Norris likely wouldn’t complain about.

At the time, Norris also shared the biggest challenge he’s been able to overcome to help get him to where he is today in his career, which is “probably focusing more on myself and not worrying as much what other people think.”

“I think I grew up a little bit I think in the correct way, which is always trying to do the right thing and please people and make people smile or never say the wrong thing. And I think that a lot of people are like that, especially when you’re in front of a camera and on TV and in the public eye,” the F1 driver continued. “But that just is again, very stressful. So trying to be happier to displease people, which doesn’t feel like it’s the right thing to say, but you can’t please everyone. And acknowledging that and understanding that I think allows you to be just more yourself and just allows you to live a bit more freely.”

Norris joined McLaren in 2019, making his F1 debut with the team. Piastri made his F1 debut in 2023 after joining McLaren as a reserve driver the year prior.

Thanks to McLaren’s dominance this season, the team also won the Constructors’ Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix in October. It marked a back-to-back win for the team, as they also took home the Constructors’ title last year.