Liam Grace
Published November 30, 2025 5:30pm
Updated November 30, 2025 5:56pm
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Lando Norris will now look to land his first-ever title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Picture: Getty)
Lando Norris missed out on becoming Formula 1 world champion in Qatar on Sunday with the title now set to be decided in Abu Dhabi next week.
The British McLaren driver knew he’d clinch his first career title in Qatar with a race to spare if he ended up 26 points, or more, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and 25 points in front of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
But a dramatic race in Qatar saw Verstappen finish first with Piastri second and Norris in fourth, behind third-placed Carlos Sainz.
It means a Formula 1 world champion will not be crowned until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has concluded on December 7, with Norris looking to become the first Brit to land the title since Lewis Hamilton and end Verstappen’s run of four in a row from 2021 to 2024.
After cutting Norris’ lead to just 12 points heading into the final F1 race of the season, Verstappen said: ‘It’s all possible now! We will see. I don’t worry about it too much.
‘This was an incredible race for us. We made the right call as a team to box under that Safety Car. That was smart. I’m super happy to win here. We stay in the fight until the end. Incredible!
‘It was a very strong race on a weekend that was a bit tough but we won the race and that was important.’
The race to become Formula 1 world champion
Max Verstappen started the race in third but ended up on top (Picture: Getty)
With just one Grand Prix left to go, Norris has a 12-point lead over Verstappen as he looks to become Formula 1 world champion.
1. Norris – 408 points
2. Verstappen – 396 points
3. Piastri – 392 points
How Verstappen cut Norris’ lead to just 12 points
Max Verstappen moved ahead of Lando Norris on the first lap (Picture: Getty)
Australian star Piastri was on pole for the race in Qatar – ahead of Norris and Verstappen in second and third respectively – but the Dutchman moved ahead of the Brit into Turn One on the very first lap.
Verstappen decided to head for a pit stop on lap eight with most of the other drivers but the two McLarens stayed out as Norris reclaimed second.
Norris could be heard on the team radio questioning why he did not pit with engineer Will Joseph claiming McLaren’s rivals had ‘lost all flexibility for the remainder of the race’.
Verstappen: McLarens not pitting 'an interesting move'
Max Verstappen is looking to win his fifth F1 title in a row (Picture: Getty)
Speaking after the race, Verstappen was quizzed about the two McLarens not pitting early-on and said: ‘I was like, that’s an interesting move! I knew we had a gap but you still need to keep the tyres alive.
‘The tyre wear is high around here and luckily it all worked out.’
Piastri headed for a pit stop on lap 25, temporarily handing the lead to teammate Norris, with the Briton then pitting on the following lap.
That saw Verstappen move into first as Piastri and Norris fell down to fourth and fifth respectively.
On lap 30, Piastri drove down the inside of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli into Turn One to move up to third.
Two laps later, Norris was handed a second warning for breaching track limits – knowing that two more would result in a five-second penalty – as Antonelli fended off the struggling Brit from overtaking.
Verstappen, along with Antonelli and Williams’ Sainz, headed for a pit stop on lap 33 as the Dutchman fell to third behind race leader Piastri and second-placed Norris.
But Norris badly needed to pick up the pace with Verstappen, Piastri, Antonelli and Sainz all faster than than him.
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After the McLarens pitted, it seemed like a Verstappen victory was inevitable with Piastri having a firm grip on second and Norris in a battle for third with Antonelli and Sainz.
With 10 laps to go, Verstappen was 14 seconds ahead of second-placed Piastri with Norris still down in fifth, behind Antonelli and Sainz.
On lap 52, fourth-placed Antonelli and fifth-placed Norris were closing in on Sainz.
Norris eventually passed Antonelli on the final lap to climb up to fourth – but he couldn’t land a podium finish as Sainz secured third behind race winner Verstappen and second-placed Piastri.
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