Starting second, he had already been passed by McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in a brilliant move on Lap 1, pushing him to third. Finishing one spot lower and out of podium would have meant the world championship slipping out of his grasp.
The 26-year-old then came under pressure from the Ferrari of fourth-placed Charles Leclerc. But the Briton defended well and kept himself out of the Ferrari’s DRS range to take the chequered flag in third place — exactly what was required of him — to be crowned the 35th champion in the 75-year Formula 1 history.
“Oh God. I’ve not cried in a while and I didn’t think I would cry, but I did,” said an emotional but jubilant Norris as he removed his helmet after becoming McLaren’s first world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. “It’s incredible. It is pretty surreal. I’ve dreamed of this for a long, long time. I feel like I did my part for the team this year and I’m very proud of myself for that. I’m even more proud for everyone who I hopefully made cry.”
Starting from pole, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the 24th and final race of the 2025 season to give his best but fell two points shy of the title. It is a tremendous comeback from the four-time world champion who was an incredible 104 points behind the then championship leader Piastri after the Dutch GP on August 31.
Australian Piastri, who led the championship for 15 races before his title fight sputtered in the latter half of the season, played second fiddle to Norris on Sunday as he finished second in the race and third in the championship in the sport’s first three-way fight for the title in 15 years.
Norris was in the best position to clinch the title as he started the race 12 and 16 points ahead of Verstappen and Piastri respectively. He only needed to finish on the podium. But that position was far from assured as he was first passed by Piastri and then came under pressure from Leclerc.
After his first pit stop on Lap 17, he was caught behind traffic and had to go past a few cars — including a brilliant double overtake on the back straight. He also had to overtake Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who had been instructed by Red Bull to slow down the McLaren driver.
The Japanese weaved and pushed Norris off the circuit but the Glastonbury boy made a bold pass to surge ahead. Tsunoda, expectedly, was handed a five-second penalty for his risky move.
The overtakes and his defensive capabilities not just displayed Norris’ bold driving skills but also his maturity in what turned out to be a career-defining race. He not only drove a clean race, doing what was required of him, but the McLaren driver also never let the pressure get to him, handling his nerves brilliantly.
In his moment of glory, he didn’t forget to praise his rivals, who made him push his abilities as a driver all season.
“I now know what Max feels like. I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two biggest competitors the whole season. It’s been a pleasure to race against both of them and an honour. I’ve learned a lot from both of them as well,” said Norris, before making a dive into the arms of McLaren mechanics, who lifted the new world champion on their shoulders.
