Abu Dhabi GP: Drivers Comments

Lando Norris has won his first F1 world title despite Max Verstappen finishing first in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Norris needed a podium finish to secure his maiden world championship and came home in P3 after his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri passed him on the first lap.

Verstappen’s reign as F1 world champion therefore ends after four seasons, despite his eighth victory of the 2025 campaign, one more than both Norris and Piastri.

We turn our attention to the drivers following such an historic day.

World Champions Thoughts

Lando Norris

“I have not cried in a while, I didn’t think I’d cry but I did. It’s a long journey, first of all I want to say a big thanks to my guys, everyone at McLaren, my parents, my mum, my dad, they are the ones who supported me since the beginning. Oh, I look like a loser! It feels amazing. I now know what Max feels like a little bit.

“I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my competitors the whole season, it’s been a pleasure to race against both of them. It’s been an honour. I’ve enjoyed it, it’s been a long year but we did it and I am so proud of everyone.”

“You can’t not think of it, but it’s a long race until the end. Anything in Formula One can happen. I still wanted to fight to the end, that’s what we did, that’s what we had to do this season. They certainly didn’t make my life easy this year. I am happy so…”

“I had no idea. I didn’t care, I knew what I did was fine so I had nothing to worry about. Not many people in Formula One get to experience what I’ve experienced this season. I am happy for everyone more than me… I am just crazy happy.”

Championship Rivals

Oscar Piastri

“We gave it everything. We tried a bit of a gamble on strategy. We tried absolutely everything to win the race and try to give ourselves the best chance to win a championship.“But ultimately we didn’t have the pace today. Gave it everything and that’s all you can ask for.”

“It’s been a fun challenge. At certain points maybe it doesn’t feel that fun but it’s been a really enjoyable season for both of us and I’m saying that as the person who’s not champion.“I’ve learned plenty of things (from him) along the way and it’s nice to know that it goes both ways. There are plenty more years to come of intense weekends and tight battles. Ultimately it has made both of us better drivers and contributed to the success that both of us have had.”

Max Verstappen

“We’ve had a rollercoaster of a year, especially in the beginning. It would’ve been easy to say ‘the season is done’ (when the lead was) 100 points plus, but they always kept trying to understand the issues.“It’s been fun. The fightback has been really fun. In the end it doesn’t mean if you’re one point or 20 points behind, but it’s been cool — I’ve been enjoying it.”

Rest of Grid

Carlos Sainz

“Very happy for him as a driver because he’s always been extremely quick — probably quicker than people give him credit for. Extremely talented. Since I worked with him at McLaren the first years, I saw a guy who could be a multiple world champion if it was purely down to speed.

“More than anything, I’m happy for him as a person because he doesn’t follow the typical stereotype. He’s always stayed true to himself, open about his struggles and he’s proven you can be a world champion, that good guy, and you don’t need to be ruthless or bad-ass to show you can do it.

“I’m happy for him and I hope he stays the same now. Keeps being himself. Maybe he will now relax even more and enjoy F1 even more.”

Lewis Hamilton

“I was thinking of not saying too much really, other than that I’m really, really happy for him. Winning your first world championship is truly special. The UK continues to pump out great drivers.“I know the feeling coming into this race fighting for your first championship and it’s nerve wracking. I’m just really proud of him. Before the weekend I just told him, don’t change anything, what he’s been doing works and I guess that’s what he did.”

McLaren CEO Comments

Zak Brown

“I’m unbelievably proud of the team. I’m unbelievably proud of our two drivers. We let them race to the end. It’s just a dream racing with these two guys. Oscar (Piastri) and Lando have been awesome all year this Max (Verstappen) guy is pretty hard to beat, so it’s quite an accomplishment.“It’s so well deserved for everyone. I can’t wait to get back to the factory and celebrate with the entire team.”

“He’s a future world champion. Both of our guys won seven races, drove brilliantly, supported each other. It’s a cruel sport sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t, it’s out of your control.“But I’m excited to go racing with these two guys next year.”

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