Lando Norris ended Max Verstappen’s hegemony in Formula 1 and became the new world champion of the premier category of motorsport (Story of Lando Norris’ F1 World Championship victory).
McLaren smiles and since 2008 with Lewis Hamilton, those of Woking have not supported a driver to win the “Champions Tour”.
Max Verstappen’s miracle didn’t work, nor did the carom that Piastri needed to create the surprise. The Dutchman completed a perfect race, without errors, just like the Australian -although McLaren extended its first stop a lot, it took place on lap 42-, but there was no movement back.
Leclerc tried to put Lando Norris on the ropesbut the pressure was not enough for the young Briton, who on the Yas Marina circuit realizes the dream he had when he was young when he drove karts.
The “4” of McLaren, which will be able to inherit the “1” of Verstappen from next season, knew how to read the race perfectly. When the Monegasque approached him, he picked up the pace. The fight was not going to be with Verstappen nor with Piastri, he did not want to take risks and did not risk it with the Ferrari.
From the Papaya team wall, they implemented an excellent strategy: they stopped Norris in the first stint after Russell’s attack on Leclerc, who protected himself and also ran through the pits.
The Briton had a solid race, without making any mistakes, nor his mechanics since even the stops were perfect.
At the start, Max closed the door on Norris and already on the back stretch, surprised to see Piastri launch off the outside of turn nine to take position to his teammate, especially since the Australian had hard tires.
When there’s not much to lose, it makes sense to take more risks. Lando withstood a few attacks from Leclerc and quickly consolidated his third place.
Norris’ biggest challenge after the first stoppage was getting rid of Tsunoda. The Japanese defended themselves vigorously, but the battle lasted barely half a turn; He showed Lando the limits of the asphalt and he didn’t hesitate to respond by overtaking off-road. and thus allowing him to build up a sufficient cushion against his pursuers on the podium.
Alonso’s magical night
Alonso claimed a brilliant sixth place with Aston Martinahead of Ocon and Hamilton: his second best result of the year. In the first laps, he remained close to the leaders then managed to masterfully despite the constant pressure from behind.
The Ferrari opted for two stops and was strong at the end, but Ocon does not have the reputation of being a “minister of defense” by chance. Haas contained the threat of a seven-time champion converted into a middle zone driver, this territory with its own rules.
Sainz was around the points, but finished 13th with an uninspired Williams.
Up front, there were no surprises: no unexpected twists and turns, no sanctions (at least for now), no failed strategies, no incidents between teammates, no strange interpretations of the rules.
Verstappen took his 71st F1 victory, ahead of Piastri and Norris, but it was not enough to secure his fifth title. Maybe it will arrive in 2026, maybe it will never arrive.
Max was a worthy runner-up, even if not perfect: he lost nine points due to an absurd penalty in Barcelona after touching Russell, points which we now know would have changed the result.
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