Red Bull’s Max Verstappen hailed Lando Norris’ maiden F1 title as “very special” after he fell two points short of the Brit despite winning 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen arrived in Abu Dhabi seeking to become just the second F1 driver to achieve five consecutive titles as he sat 12 points behind Norris, and proceeded to execute an one-stop strategy from pole to take victory as he passed the alternate-strategy running Oscar Piastri on lap 41.
Norris however finished third which proved enough to deny Verstappen his fifth title but the 28 year-old has urged Norris to enjoy his first F1 title.
“Of course, for Lando this is something very special and I hope he enjoys it a lot. The first Championship win is the most emotional one and it is something you dream of since you were a little kid. His family are here and I hope he enjoys tonight with his Team.”
Verstappen proceeded to praise his team for their turnaround in form from having sat 104 points adrift after the Dutch GP to having fell two points short, in which he claimed six Grand Prix victories and the US Sprint win as part of his futile fightback.
“I’m very proud of the whole Team and I’m so proud of the incredible turnaround that we had. We never gave up and always believed we could turn things around and never stopped trying. We could have very easily just have given up, but we kept pushing, looking for improvements and always believed.
“This season has been a massive rollercoaster, with lots of tough moments and feelings, but I’m so proud of everyone and we have really come together as a Team. The turnaround in the second half of the season was incredible and pretty crazy that we could do that and we kept overcoming a lot of things as a Team.”
“Today has been a lot of fun, especially winning the race in such a dominant way. We had an incredible weekend and did everything as best as we could, so ultimately I feel good today. Although not winning a championship by two points looks painful, going back to Zandvoort we were behind by over 100 points, so am very proud of what we have achieved.
Leave a Reply