FACTS AND STATS: Verstappen won more, Piastri led longer, but Norris is champion

Following the closest finish to a title fight in 15 years, McLaren’s Lando Norris is our new World Champion after taking the third place he needed in the Abu Dhabi season finale. It ended an extraordinary campaign, not only for Norris but also his arch rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. Here’s our quick round-up of their key numbers and more…

• Verstappen won the race but has been deposed as World Champion after 1,457 days.

• Verstappen’s victory was his 51st win as the World Champion.

• It was Verstappen’s 10th consecutive podium finish to end the season (he scored just five podium finishes in first 14 races this season).

• Verstappen was 2025 championship runner-up by only two points, the closest margin since the current points format was adopted in 2010.

• Today’s was the 11th consecutive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to be won from pole (a new F1 record for any venue).

• It was Verstappen’s eighth victory of 2025, meaning he won the most Grands Prix for the fifth consecutive year.

• Oscar Piastri was P2 in the race and third in the final standings – having led the championship longer than any other driver this season (15 races).

• Norris’ P3 finish in Abu Dhabi means he becomes the 35th driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship.

• Norris joins seven previous champions with McLaren: Emerson Fittipaldi (1974), James Hunt (1976), Niki Lauda (1984), Alain Prost (1985-86, 1989), Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990-91), Mika Hakkinen (1998-99) and Lewis Hamilton (2008).

• Norris becomes the 11th World Champion from Great Britain, with the 21st championship for a British driver overall.

• Norris has the fourth longest career in F1 history before becoming World Champion (152 races), behind Jenson Button (160), Nigel Mansell (176) and Nico Rosberg (206).

• Charles Leclerc’s P4 result means he goes winless for the fourth time in seven seasons at Ferrari.

• Mercedes’ George Russell finished fifth in Abu Dhabi for the second consecutive year.

• Russell finished every race in the 2025 F1 season.

• Fernando Alonso’s P6 for Aston Martin was his best finish at Yas Marina since 2013.

• Esteban Ocon’s P7 for Haas was his best Grand Prix finish since Monaco, 16 races ago.

• It was also the Haas team’s best-ever result at Yas Marina.

• Lewis Hamilton took P8 for Ferrari, so finishes a season without a podium finish for the first time in his F1 career.

• Lance Stroll’s P10 finish for Aston Martin was his first point since the Dutch Grand Prix in August.

• This was the 24th Grand Prix to be completed without any classified retirements and the fourth this season.

• There are only 91 days for the teams to prepare for the season-opening race of the 2026 season in Australia.