Summary
Lando Norris won the 2025 Formula 1 world title at the age of 26, ending the hegemony of Max Verstappen and Red Bull, in a season marked by thrilling contention, consistency and a new era of competitive balance.
The 2025 Formula 1 season has redrawn the power map of the category. After years of hegemony of Red Bull and Max Verstappen, the consecration of Lando Norris, at the age of 26, at McLaren, officially opens a new era, more competitive, more emotional and deeply linked to the young public.
Norris won the championship with just two points: 423 to Verstappen’s 421. McLaren, which has not won a drivers’ title since Lewis Hamilton in 2008, has finally completed its rebuilding project. But behind the numbers, there is a pilot with his own identity: digital, transparent, vulnerable, extremely fast — and with a special relationship with Brazil.
The decision taken at the Yas Marina circuit was a dramatic chapter worthy of the great stories of sport. Norris started third, behind Verstappen and Oscar Piastri – his teammate and internal rival.
To be champion, all he needed was a podium. And that’s exactly what he did: he finished 3rd, preserving his position with unprecedented maturity. Verstappen won the race, but lost the championship. Norris’ radio captured the emotion of the moment:
“We did it! You made history. Thank you for everything…thank you, Mom and Dad.”
Rádio do Lando after winning the championship. 🥹
“Thank you guys. You made a childhood dream come true. Truly. Thank you so much. I love you. Thank you for everything. You deserve it. I love you, mom. I love you, dad. Thank you for everything. I’m not crying.”pic.twitter.com/4KKbS9TfzI
– Info Lando Norris (@InfoLN4) December 7, 2025
Norris won 7 GPs (Australia, Monaco, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Mexico and São Paulo) and scored 17 podiums. He has been the most consistent driver on the grid, despite internal crises such as the collision with Piastri in Canada and the painful engine failure in the Netherlands.
In figures, the results of the 2025 season reinforce the scale of Lando Norris’ success. The Briton closed the championship with 423 points, thanks to 7 victories and 17 podiums, continuing the consistency that marked his campaign. Max Verstappen finishes just behind, with 421 points, accumulating 9 victories and 14 podiums, while Oscar Piastri completes the decisive trio with 410 points, repeating the champion’s 7 victories and adding 12 podiums throughout the year. The three men experienced one of the closest and most technical disputes of the hybrid era, with McLaren placing both drivers in the Top 3 of the final standings.
Lando Norris’ path to the 2025 world title begins well before Abu Dhabi. Born in Bristol on November 13, 1999, the Briton grew up in the shadow of his own surname. Son of Adam Norris, a multimillionaire businessman, for years he carried the label of “paid pilot”, a stigma common to talents from wealthy families. The answer came on the track: Norris won everything there was to win in the youth categories, including the Formula 3 European title and Formula 2 runner-up, thus cementing himself as one of the most promising youngsters of his generation. The consecration of 2025 not only puts an end to this debate on merit, but definitively places his name in the pantheon of F1 champions.
Over the years, Norris has also built up the image of the “good guy” in the paddock. Game streaming, light humor in interviews and emotional vulnerability have always been trademarks of the McLaren driver. But to conquer the world in 2025, he needed to access another level of personality: tougher, more calculating and ready to take on giants like Max Verstappen. The Briton led with consistency, controlled aggression and unprecedented calm in decisive moments – elements that led analysts to define 2025 as Norris’ “definitive maturation”.
However, it is perhaps within McLaren itself where perhaps its biggest challenge lies. Oscar Piastri, teammate and equally generational talent, won seven races during the season and behaved like a true “intimate enemy”. The Australian took valuable points from Norris, sparked internal debates over team orders and presented Woking with a very rare strategic dilemma: how to manage two drivers with number 1 performance and ambitions? The answer, which worked in 2025, is starting to look less clear for 2026 – and it is precisely this internal tension that is set to shape McLaren’s next chapter in Formula 1.
Connection with Brazil
A declared native of Palmeiras, Norris adopted the São Paulo club as his team in Brazil. The Briton has already visited the Allianz Parque, follows the matches remotely and does not hide his admiration for coach Abel Ferreira. The relationship is so consolidated that it has become an integral part of the pilot’s identity during his visits to São Paulo, thus strengthening the bond with one of the biggest supporters in the country.
PALMEIRAS SPORTS SOCIETY
WORLD CHAMPION! LANDO NORRIS! 🐷🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/D36kjiI5q4
– Noite de Copa (@Noitedecopa) December 7, 2025
But it was at Interlagos, in 2025, that this connection took on an even deeper tone. The victory at the São Paulo GP was dedicated to Gil de Ferran, former sporting director of McLaren and mentor of Norris, who died in 2023. Emotional on the radio, the Briton summed up the importance of the Brazilian in his career: “It was for Gil. He changed my career.” The tribute touched the team, the paddock and especially the Brazilian supporters.
Respect for Senna is also constant. In 2025, Norris raced at Interlagos with a special helmet that mixed the traditional neon of his design with the iconic colors used by the three-time champion. The gesture reinforced the Briton’s admiration for his national idol and widened his ties with a fan base which, since Senna’s death, has been seeking representatives in Formula 1’s elite.
The season also marked the end of the cordiality between Norris and Max Verstappen. Former friendly relations collapsed amid public provocations, aggressive conflicts and growing tensions on and off the circuits. In 2025, the rivalry ceases to be symbolic: it becomes the driving force of the championship. For many, Norris has taken on the role of “anti-Verstappen”, inaugurating a dynamic reminiscent of the great historic duels of the category.
Ultimately, Norris’ title represents more than an individual achievement: it heralds a new era. The Briton emerges as a complete champion: fast, emotionally transparent, technically mature and deeply connected to a global fan base. His victory shattered Red Bull’s hegemony and paved the way for a cycle of greater competitive balance and more intense human narratives in Formula 1. The future remains unpredictable, but for now, the throne has a new owner – and the world is watching to see how long he will stay there.
F1 fan, Maisa “indicates” which driver she will support and congratulates Norris for his answer in Portuguese:
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