Norris says title win has come at a price after McLaren triumph

Lando Norris said his first Formula 1 world title has come at a price, reflecting on the strain of a season that ended with him champion by two points. He sealed the 2025 crown at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 7, finishing third at Yas Marina Circuit behind Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

That result left Verstappen two points adrift and Piastri 11 points behind in a title fight Formula 1 described as the closest in 15 years, and the narrowest margin since the current points format began in 2010. Norris became the 35th Formula 1 World Champion and only the 11th from Great Britain, a place on the record that underlines how tight and hard-fought the season had been from start to finish.

The finale was decided as much on the pit wall as on the track. McLaren chief executive Zak Brown called the decider an “unbelievable race” and said “everything went right,” while team principal Andrea Stella said the team’s strategy was a defensive response to the race circumstances. Norris later described the championship as “ours,” a reminder that the title was built on a collective call chain, not just one driver’s pace over 58 laps.

For McLaren, the win brought its first Drivers’ Championship since Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and added Norris to a list of previous champions that includes Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Hamilton. Norris also said McLaren would be a “different vibe” for Verstappen, a remark that lands against the backdrop of McLaren’s renewed status at the front of the grid and its current line-up of Norris and Oscar Piastri.