As the dust settles on the 2025 F1 season and Lando Norris’ maiden title, here is a look at five races which secured the Brit his first crown.
In a season which went to a three-way wire in Abu Dhabi, Norris produced nine victories consisting of seven Grand Prix and two Sprint victories to ultimately end Max Verstappen’s reign by just two points.
Norris however had to battle his own McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri throughout the season before Verstappen mounted a second-half fightback to keep his title defence alive until the very end as he fell short eventually.
Looking back at the season as a whole and where those little points differences were, there are plenty of moments which can be argued about, but here are five races which defined Norris’ title-winning campaign.
Australian Grand Prix
In a wet season-opener, Norris comfortably led from pole position to victory in a calm measured drive which even saw him survive a wild moment in a heavy downpour on lap 44, whilst Piastri got caught out just behind him and dropped down the order.
Verstappen however enjoyed a late-race upturn in performance and got within one second of Norris who held on for victory, which would ultimately prove crucial come the last checkered flag of the season.
British Grand Prix
Having qualified third for his home race which began on a damp track at Silverstone, Norris acclimatised well to the tricky wet conditions in contrast to Verstappen who struggled for grip once rain arrived on lap 11, although Verstappen managed to repass Norris with a faster pit stop as both pitted at the end of that lap.
Lap 21 however proved to be the defining moment of the race as Piastri led from Verstappen at the end of the second safety car period, only to brake heavily and the Dutchman consequently briefly passed him which saw the Australian hit with a ten-second time penalty.
Verstappen moments later however spun out on the exit of Stowe and could only recover to fifth at the checkered flag, whilst Norris was able to gain ten further points on him after he overcut Piastri for the lead at his second pit stop on lap 45 to take his first home victory.
The result consequently left Norris 61 points clear of Verstappen but eight points behind Piastri who led the standings at that point.
Hungarian Grand Prix
Verstappen endured a miserable Hungarian GP as he only qualified eighth but finished ninth on the road, whilst Norris lost two positions to slip to fifth which saw McLaren boldly split strategies as he went onto an one-stopper whilst Piastri stuck to the two-stopper strategy.
Once Piastri and pole-sitter Charles Leclerc made their second stops, Norris was left out on worn hard tyres after having stopped on lap 31, whilst Piastri passed Leclerc for second on Lap 51 and was able to reel in his teammate with instruction to retake the lead.
Norris however had utilised the clean air and his tyre management to save his rubber and was able to survive an intense late-race scrap to take his sixth overall win of the season, as Piastri locked up in his attempt to pass for the lead on the penultimate lap,
F1 subsequently went on its summer break after that race with Piastri nine points clear of Norris, who held a 88-point gap to Verstappen, which made his victory in Budapest all the more season-defining come Abu Dhabi.
Qatar Grand Prix
Having regained the title lead from Piastri in Mexico and suffered disqualification in Las Vegas alongside Piastri due to a breach of floor rules in a race won by Verstappen, Norris drove a mature race to third in the Qatar Sprint which gave him an unlikely but mathematical opportunity to wrap up the title in the main race.
Every driver however were limited to just 25 racing laps on each set of tyres for safety reasons in the 57-lap race, which meant that a safety car on lap seven provided the opportunistic time to make the first stop.
McLaren however were committed to giving Norris and Piastri equal fair treatment in their title fight and left the pair out thinking they can get fresher tyre rubber at the end, whilst third-placed Verstappen took the gamble in pitting early which gave him the net lead.
That bold move paid off for Verstappen once everyone completed their two stops as he was able to cruise to victory from Piastri to overtake the Aussie by four points into second in the standings, whilst Norris benefitted from a wide moment for Andrea Kimi Antonelli to take fourth on the penultimate lap.
That error from the Italian meant that Norris led Verstappen by 12 points going into the title decider with Piastri a further four points back in third, as the trio were locked on seven wins apiece but Norris had the advantage on second-placed finishes countback if needed.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
In need of a top-three finish with the title in Norris’ hands and aware of Red Bull’s potential to deploy dirty tactics, McLaren opted to split starting tyre strategies as Norris copied Verstappen on the medium tyre whilst Piastri went for the longer-lasting harder tyre to counteract any antics from Yuki Tsunoda.
Norris subsequently mounted a calm drive on the opening lap from second on the grid and unleashed Piastri round the outside of turn 9, in order to give the Australian a fair chance at the title and keep Verstappen’s pit-stop strategy options under pressure in terms of timing gaps.
Piastri duly obliged as he opted for an one-stopper which saw him repassed by Verstappen for the lead on Lap 41 before he pitted at the end of that lap.
Norris meanwhile survived being rammed wide by Tsunoda on Lap 23 as the Japanese driver tried to hold him up on instruction from Red Bull to try and help Verstappen, in a move which landed him a five-second time penalty in his last race for the team.
Nevertheless that near-brush and a two-stop strategy didn’t stop Norris from driving to third, which proved enough for him to clinch the title by two points from race winner – Verstappen and highlighted how crucial those two extra points in Qatar were otherwise the Dutchman would of won a fifth title on countback.
Leave a Reply