Max Verstappen closes the season with a flawless victory, but the 2025 World Championship goes to Lando Norris, who seals the title after a tense and dramatic final marked by one decisive moment: the crucial overtake completed around the outside, beyond the white lines of the circuit, while Yuki Tsunoda was aggressively obstructing him without making contact. It was an episode that immediately triggered debate, with race control ruling the move legal given the impeding and the lack of any lasting advantage gained.
On track, Verstappen delivered one of his most controlled performances of the year, setting the pace from the start and never allowing anyone to threaten his lead. Behind him, George Russell secured second place thanks to strong tyre management and a much sharper Mercedes. Oscar Piastri finished third, executing a consistent and mature race that reflects McLaren’s rise throughout the season.
The Championship standings, however, tell a different story:
Lando Norris, World Champion for the first time, showing maturity and composure even in the most controversial moment of his career.
Max Verstappen, second overall, strong in the finale but unable to overturn the deficit built earlier in the season.
Oscar Piastri, third in the standings, confirming himself as one of the strongest assets in McLaren’s long-term project.
The key moment came midway through the race: Norris launched the move on Tsunoda, who defended extremely aggressively. Norris refused to back out, stayed on the outside and completed the pass—but only after being forced beyond the white lines of the track. The footage immediately sparked debate, but race control judged the excursion off-track a direct consequence of Tsunoda’s obstruction, with no net advantage gained, meaning the position did not need to be returned.
This season finale becomes the perfect snapshot of 2025: Norris aggressive yet composed, McLaren reborn, Verstappen still capable of dominating a race, and a Formula 1 landscape that officially enters a new era after years of Red Bull supremacy.
In the end, the World Championship crowns a new king. And it feels like this is just the beginning.
Edited by Matteo Averna
