By Joe Aura, aurajoe6@gmail.com
The energy around the final race of the season shifts up a gear every time. The world’s eyes will be on Yas Marina as anticipation is building ahead of the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi, where the Drivers’ Champion will be crowned following a thrilling 24-race campaign. But will it be Lando Norris, Max Verstappen or Oscar Piastri who leaves the Yas Marina Circuit with the title?
F1 is the pinnacle of data-driven decision-making and engineering. So it’s amazing when those details go down to the final race, the final mili second and the final decision of the season.
The 2025 Formula 1 season has been a thrilling, tight three-way battle for the Drivers’ Championship between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
As things stand before the season finale: Norris leads with 408 points, Verstappen follows with 396, and Piastri is close behind at 392. Sources: Sky Sports, RacingNews365 [Sky Sports+2RacingNews365+2]
All three – Norris, Verstappen, and Piastri – have seven Grand Prix victories this season, underlining how evenly matched their campaigns have been. Sources: AS USA, Nine Australia [AS USA+2nine.com.au+2]
McLaren have already clinched the 2025 Constructors’ Championship, making them the dominant team across the season and giving additional weight to the intra-team rivalry between Norris and Piastri. Source: McLaren Racing [McLaren+2McLaren+2]
McLaren has already sealed the 2025 Constructors’ Championship, underlining their technical supremacy and adding even more weight to the intra-team rivalry between Norris and Piastri. Source: McLaren Racing
For most of the season, McLaren controlled the narrative — until Verstappen mounted a late-season resurgence, capped by a decisive Qatar Grand Prix victory. McLaren’s strategy misstep in the same race tightened the standings, transforming the Abu Dhabi finale into a three-way title shootout. The tension within the McLaren garage has been palpable, with teammates pushing each other to the limit while trying not to compromise the team’s championship ambitions.
Zak Brown summed up the Verstappen threat perfectly, calling him “that guy in the horror movie that keeps coming back.” And true to form, Verstappen has shown relentless consistency, capitalising on every opportunity to stay in the hunt.
The 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will represent the 32nd time in Formula 1’s 75-year history that the battle for the Drivers’ Championship has gone down to the final race of the season.
Norris can only win the title by finishing first or second while both Verstappen and Piastri fail to make the podium.
Verstappen’s cleanest path is a win with Norris fourth or worse – if he doesn’t win he must outscore Norris by at least 13 points while preventing Piastri from outscoring him by five or more.
Piastri’s route is narrow: he needs a top two finish (a win requires Norris sixth or lower; second demands Norris tenth or lower and Verstappen off the podium) – 58 laps to settle everything.
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