By winning third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lando Norris became the world champion in the ranking of Formula 1 drivers for the first time in his career.
In the last race of the season, Norris started from the second position, but already by the third turn he lost his place to his club colleague Oscar Piastri, while Max Verstappen remained in the first place.
The point difference in the overall standings was enough for Norris to be able to calculate, which means that third place would be enough for the Briton to win this prestigious trophy.
The race itself was not filled with excessive excitement, except that the fourth Leclerc was not far behind Norris, but the Monegasque was never in a real chance to threaten Norris and his chances of winning the title.
“This is for my mum and dad, they let me chase this dream that has now become a reality,” said Norris after being declared the winner at the Yas Marina circuit.
Norris had a 12-point lead over Verstappen and 16 points ahead of teammate Oscar Piastre heading into the final race of the season. He lost ground to the Australian at the start, but thanks to a different strategy and two pit stops, he managed to claw his way back up to third place, which was enough for him to claim the title.
“It was a long race, anything can happen in Formula 1, but I wanted to fight until the end. Max was chasing us, Oscar was getting close, they didn’t make it easy for me, but now I’m happy,” stressed Norris.
