The 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi was basically a fever dream for Formula 1 fans. If you’re looking for who won the F1 race, the answer is Max Verstappen. He took the checkered flag at the Yas Marina Circuit on December 7, 2025, but honestly, the podium felt like a victory for someone else entirely. While Max stood on the top step, the real story was the guy finishing in third: Lando Norris.
F1 is weird like that sometimes. You can win the battle and lose the war in a single afternoon. Max did everything he had to do—he claimed pole, led the majority of the 58 laps, and finished with a time of 1:26:07.469. It was a flawless drive that reminded everyone why he’s a four-time world champion. But because Lando Norris managed to bring his McLaren home in P3, he secured his maiden World Drivers' Championship by a razor-thin margin of just two points.
The Abu Dhabi Results (The Top 5)
- 1st: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 25 Points
- 2nd: Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 18 Points
- 3rd: Lando Norris (McLaren) - 15 Points
- 4th: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 12 Points
- 5th: George Russell (Mercedes) - 10 Points
Max Verstappen and the Bittersweet Victory
Max was relentless. He entered the weekend 12 points behind Lando and knew he needed a miracle or a McLaren meltdown. He got the pole on Saturday, which gave Red Bull a glimmer of hope. On Sunday, he didn't put a foot wrong. He cleared the field and finished over 12 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri.
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But F1 is a game of math. Even with the 25 points for the win, Max ended the season with 421 points. Lando’s third-place finish gave him 15 points, bringing his total to 423. Think about that. After 24 races across five continents, the entire championship was decided by the equivalent of a tenth-place finish.
The tension in the closing laps was suffocating. Charles Leclerc was hounding Norris for that third spot. If Leclerc had passed him, Max would have been the champion again. Norris later admitted he was "soaking up the pressure" and that his heart rate was probably higher than the car's RPMs.
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McLaren's Double Glory and the 2026 Reset
While the individual title was the headline, McLaren also walked away with the Constructors' Championship. It was their first double (Drivers' and Constructors') since 1998. They’ve basically been the benchmark for the last 18 months, and seeing Oscar Piastri finish second in the race just proved how dominant that car actually was.
Honestly, the 2025 season was a massive rollercoaster. Remember, Max had closed a 104-point gap down to just 12 entering the final race. It was a Herculean effort that just fell short.
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Now, everything changes. As we sit here in January 2026, the paddock is quiet, but the factories are screaming. We are officially in the "Era of the Great Reset." The 2026 season brings a total overhaul of the power unit and aero regulations.
What to watch for in 2026:
- New Faces in New Places: Lewis Hamilton is officially settled at Ferrari. Carlos Sainz is at Williams.
- The New Team: Cadillac is joining the grid as the eleventh team, using Ferrari power units and a veteran lineup of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
- The Champion’s New Look: Lando Norris has officially ditched his number 4 to run the #1 on his McLaren for the 2026 season. Max Verstappen is switching back to #3 (the number formerly held by Daniel Ricciardo).
- Audi Arrival: The Sauber name is gone, replaced by the Audi factory entry with Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
If you’re waiting for the next live race, mark your calendars for March 8, 2026, for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. That will be the first time we see these new cars under the radical 2026 ruleset. Until then, teams are heading to Barcelona for private testing starting January 26 to see if their new designs actually work or if they've built a "tractor."
To stay ahead of the curve, keep an eye on the pre-season testing times coming out of Barcelona and Bahrain next month. While testing times are often "sandbagged," look at the long-run consistency rather than the single-lap flyers to see who has actually mastered the new 2026 engine regulations.