The 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix delivered a finale worthy of a season defined by momentum swings, strategic brinkmanship and a three-way title fight that refused to break. Max Verstappen won the race, Oscar Piastri pushed to the limit, but Lando Norris’ calm, relentless drive to P3 sealed a historic first World Championship.
The Chronicle Headlines
- Lando Norris tops both Friday sessions to start Abu Dhabi GP 2025 weekend in control.
- Max Verstappen shadows the McLaren in practice, then delivers a crucial pole in qualifying.
- Norris claims his first World Championship with composed P3 in Abu Dhabi decider
- Piastri’s bold opening lap keeps McLaren in control of the title fight
- Tsunoda penalised after aggressive defence in pivotal battle with Norris
Practice Recap: 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Practice at Abu Dhabi GP 2025 unfolded in three distinct chapters: a heavily reshuffled FP1 distorted by rookie mileage, a representative FP2 that revealed the true competitive order under the lights, and an FP3 where conditions swung again and the grid tightened before qualifying. Across all three sessions, McLaren and Red Bull traded control, while Mercedes’ pace spike and Hamilton’s crash added volatility to the storyline. By Saturday afternoon the patterns were clear, but the margins remained razor-thin heading into the most consequential qualifying of the season.
FP1: A reshuffled field and an early Norris statement
Abu Dhabi’s weekend opened with a very different look. Nine rookie and reserve drivers jumped in for FP1, including Pato O’Ward at McLaren and several Formula 2 frontrunners across Aston Martin, Ferrari, RB, Sauber and Williams. That influx of new names skewed the timesheets, but it did not hide who adapted quickest to Yas Marina at dusk.
Lando Norris topped the session with a 1:24.485, edging Max Verstappen by just 0.008s and laying down an early marker in the title fight. Charles Leclerc slotted into third for Ferrari and was the only other driver within two hundredths of Norris’ benchmark. Behind them, most teams split programmes between rookie mileage and long-run data gathering, so headline laps were thin on the ground. Even so, the pattern was clear: on a green track, with traffic from less experienced team-mates, Norris found a strong baseline immediately, and Verstappen was close enough to keep the pressure on heading into the more representative evening running.
FP2: Norris dominates, Piastri on the back foot
If FP1 hinted at McLaren’s intent, FP2 under the lights made it explicit. Lando Norris ended day one of 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on top again, this time with a commanding 1:23.083 that left Max Verstappen over three tenths adrift on the same soft compound.
This session mattered: the dusk-to-night conditions in FP2 mirror qualifying and the Grand Prix, so teams rolled straight into serious quali and race simulations. George Russell backed up Mercedes’ encouraging baseline in third, while Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc completed a top five that looked much closer to the real competitive order.
The outlier was Oscar Piastri. Back in the car after sitting out FP1, he could do no better than P11, reporting balance issues and lacking the confidence Norris showed in the high-speed changes of direction.
Long-run data told a subtler story. Verstappen’s race pace looked more threatening than the headline gap suggested, with Red Bull focusing on heavier-fuel runs while McLaren split its programme between outright pace and tyre behaviour over longer stints. Even so, the timing screens sent a clear signal: heading into Saturday, Norris owns Fridays at Yas Marina, and everyone else including his two title rivals is chasing his reference.
FP3: Russell leads as Hamilton’s crash stuns the paddock
Final practice for 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix flipped the script. After two sessions owned by Lando Norris, it was George Russell who snatched top spot in FP3 with a 1:23.335, beating Norris by just 0.004s, with Max Verstappen third.
The hour was anything but calm. Early running was steady, but the session detonated when Lewis Hamilton lost his Ferrari at Turn 9, spinning at high speed on soft tyres and slamming into the barriers. He reported that “something buckled” on the front before the rear snapped, hinting at a possible mechanical issue rather than a simple driver error. The impact triggered a red flag and left Ferrari with a serious rebuild before qualifying.
Once the track went green again, the times tumbled. Norris looked set to complete a clean sweep of practice, but a small mistake in the final sector opened the door. Russell hooked up a clean lap, used the grip peak perfectly, and denied McLaren a Friday–Saturday lockout. Verstappen stayed close in P3, while Oscar Piastri ended the session fifth, keeping both McLarens firmly in the fight.
FP3 ended with a clear message. Mercedes are in the game, Norris is still the reference over the weekend as a whole, and Hamilton starts qualifying day on the back foot after one of the heaviest moments of his Ferrari season.
Qualifying Recap: Verstappen Grabs Crucial Pole in Abu Dhabi
Q1 & Q2: Hamilton out, Russell and Piastri set the benchmark
Q1 at Abu Dhabi GP 2025 bit hard and early. In cooler dusk air, George Russell laid down the first marker with a 1:23.247, just ahead of Ollie Bearman and Oscar Piastri, as the field felt out grip and traffic.
The real punch came at the end of the segment. On fresh softs, Piastri fired in a 1:22.605 to go quickest, two tenths clear of Max Verstappen, while Lando Norris slotted into sixth after a more conservative approach. At the other end, Lewis Hamilton’s bruising Saturday continued. Still rebuilding confidence after his FP3 crash, he slipped to P16 and out in Q1, joined by Alex Albon, Nico Hülkenberg, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.
Q2 tightened everything again. Russell stayed on top with a 1:22.730, just 0.022s ahead of Verstappen and 0.074s clear of Norris, underlining how fine the margins were. Piastri and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five, while the cut line kept shifting as the track evolved.
Late laps reshuffled the midfield. Gabriel Bortoleto vaulted his Kick Sauber to an eye-catching fourth, while Isack Hadjar muscled into Q3 and knocked team mate Liam Lawson out. Rookie Kimi Antonelli reported rear-end struggles and dropped to P14, with Bearman 11th, Carlos Sainz 12th and Lance Stroll 15th all missing the top ten. The stage was set: the title contenders looked sharp, but Russell had quietly been fastest in both early segments.
Q3: Verstappen’s perfect tow delivers title-deciding pole
When it mattered most, Max Verstappen finally showed his full hand. In Q3’s opening runs he delivered a 1:22.295, helped by a perfectly timed tow from Yuki Tsunoda down the back straight, and immediately put both McLarens on notice.
For the final laps, everyone turned everything up. Verstappen found even more time, dropping the benchmark to 1:22.207 and putting one hand on the inside line for Sunday. Norris dug deep and improved, yet his 1:22.408 left him 0.201s short. Piastri closed to 0.230s off pole but had to accept third. The championship’s top three will start first, second and third in grid order.
Behind them, Russell could not convert his Q1 and Q2 form into a front-row threat and settled for P4, ahead of Charles Leclerc in fifth and Alonso in sixth. Bortoleto’s charge ended with a classy seventh on his Yas Marina debut, while Esteban Ocon, Hadjar and Tsunoda completed the top ten.
It was classic Verstappen under the lights: maximise the tow, nail both laps, and leave no margin for doubt. Norris keeps track position over Piastri, but the title decider for 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will start with a Red Bull on pole and two papaya cars staring straight at its rear wing.
Race Recap: Verstappen Wins as Norris Seals the 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Title Fight
Max Verstappen converted pole into a commanding Abu Dhabi GP victory, but the night ultimately belonged to Lando Norris, whose calm and methodical P3 secured the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship by just two points. The opening lap delivered the race’s first twist. Verstappen aggressively defended into Turn 1, holding the lead, while Oscar Piastri swept around the outside of Turn 9 to demote Norris to third.
Norris found himself under immediate pressure from Charles Leclerc, then hit traffic after an early first stop, rejoining behind a train led by Lawson and Stroll. He worked through it efficiently, but his most critical moment came on lap 25, when Yuki Tsunoda’s aggressive weaving forced the McLaren beyond track limits. Norris still completed the pass, and Tsunoda was later handed a five-second penalty.
Further ahead, Verstappen controlled the pace throughout. His second stint on the hard tyre erased any threat from Piastri, who attempted a long-run strategy but ultimately lacked the speed to respond. Norris mirrored Leclerc’s two-stop plan, giving himself the tyre life needed for the final phase.
In the closing laps, the top four compressed: Verstappen cruising, Piastri secure, Norris managing a vital four-second buffer over Leclerc. With no Safety Cars to reset the field, it became a pure execution test, and Norris delivered exactly what the title demanded.
Rest of top 10 were: Leclerc, Russell, Alonso, Ocon, Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Stroll.
Verstappen won the race. Piastri finished second. Norris finished third and became World Champion.
Lando Norris: Britain’s Newest Formula 1 World Champion
Lando Norris entered the 2025 season-finale knowing a podium would secure him the championship. He delivered exactly that, not with fireworks or a late lunge, but with the measured precision and emotional maturity that defined his late-season surge.
When he crossed the line in P3, Norris broke emotionally over team radio.
“I’ve not cried in a while… but I did,” he admitted.
During post-race interview he said:
“It feels amazing now I know what Max feels like. Oscar and Max have been my biggest competitors. It’s been an honour to race them.”
Norris becomes the 11th British World Champion, the first since Lewis Hamilton. His triumph carries added weight: he beat Verstappen widely regarded as the most complete driver of his generation in a straight, season-long contest.
What’s Next: 2026 Rules, New Cars and a Fresh Era
The next time the lights go out will be March 6, 2026, in Australia, where the sport enters a radically reshaped ruleset and the first chapter of the 2026 regulations era. New aerodynamics, new power units and new driver line-ups will redraw the competitive order once again.
For now, the paddock exhales. Teams reset, drivers recover and fans take a breath after one of the most dramatic title fights in recent years.
Enjoy the off-season. The countdown to 2026 starts now.
Feature Image Credit: McLaren