Lando wins the Championship by securing P3 in Abu Dhabi. Max won the race but that was not enough. Same with Oscar who came P2.

Lando Champion in Abu Dhabi

Lando had a lead of 12 points over Max coming in to Abu Dhabi. That’s a good lead but not enough to secure the Championship by default. Max got the Pole and he looks in the prime of his life. He was cool and composed, as a 4 time World Champion, with nothing to lose. Lando started the race in P2. He had everything to lose. If Max won the race and Lando was not on the podium then the Championship was gone to Max. He had to play it safe as much as possible, without losing further ground to the racers behind him. The first turn would be crucial and Max is known to be a person who can push the limits to get what he wants.

In a way it was good for Lando that Max was on Pole and he was P2. Had it been reversed there is a big chance that Max would have dive bombed to get ahead. Lando would take evasive action to get out of the track. He won’t mind letting Max go ahead but in the process could lead to other drivers getting ahead too. As the race started the first turn went well and there was no chaos. Lando nicely tucked behind Max and let him go ahead. Oscar too behaved well. However he went ahead of Lando in a few laps, while behind on Hards. It is not sure whether this was intentional by the team or just Oscar trying to maximize his chances.

Cool Lando in Abu Dhabi

After that the race went on pretty much in an uneventful way. There was a threat of Charles driving quickly and threatening Lando in P3. However the threat subsided soon and Lando cruised to P3 and the Championship. It was a hard fought Championship for Lando. He started off well but then Oscar got in top form as the season went on. Then it in the second hard we saw the resurgent of Max. From being 104 points behind the leader, Max finished just two points behind. It was an incredible recovery for him. For Oscar things fell apart after Baku. The usually calm and composed Aussie started flustering and showing signs of Championship pressure. He got the form back in Qatar but by then it was too late. In all of this Lando was positive and cool, something we did not see last year as he was fighting Max. While all three were worthy contenders of the Title, it was a well deserved Championship for Lando Norris.

Abu Dhabi : Final 2025 Driver Points

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Lando Oscar and Max. No one had anticipated that the F1 Championship will go down to the last race, that too with Max in the mix. This is similar to 2021 season when we saw a generational fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Both were on the exact same points as we headed for the final race in Abu Dhabi. The way race ended is literally stuff of the lore and a pivotal moment in Formula 1. This time though things are a bit different. McLaren had the best car for most of the season. They closed the Constructor’s Championship by Singapore. It was assumed that the title fight will be between the two McLaren drivers – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. However, Max made an entry in the fore and is not willing to give up the No. 1 badge that easily. 

The season started with Lando gaining an upper hand. He is the more experienced driver and is expected to make the most of the best car on the grid. However he started to fumble as the season progressed. Moreover the cool and calm Aussie Oscar Piastri started making inroads. His calm demeanor ensured that he kept winning races as Lando fumbled at critical points. The turning point though came in Monza and Baku. Oscar had to give up the race position to Lando as Lando had a slow pitstop. This is not as per the so-called ‘papaya rules’ but he still relented. Then in Baku he had a bad weekend where he literally crashed his car in frustration. This set a chain of reaction and he literally was not even on the podium until Qatar. 

All this while Max was making the most of the situation. Even when he was not winning races, as he did not have the best car, he either on the podium or there at the top. Any mistake made by the McLaren drivers and Max was there to pounce on the opportunity and grab the maximum points. The upgrades later in the season also worked wonders and while he still doesn’t have an outright best car, he can fight with the McLarens. 

Still the gap between Max and the McLaren drivers was too much to cover by the middle of the season. A 104 points to leader Oscar was too much. However things started to turn. Max kept chipping on the points and slowly closed the gap. This gap reduced drastically in Vegas as both the McLarens were disqualified due to plank issue while Max won the race. A humongous error in strategy at Qatar ensured that Max won the race despite not having the best car and left Oscar very angry as he had finally found his mojo. 

So now there is only a 12 points gap between Max and Lando, with Oscar now in 3rd poisition, 4 points from Max. If things went smoothly then Lando will win the Championship. However with Max in the mix anything is possible. He had a cool mindset but also aggressive to push to the limit. 

Can’t wait for the final race of the season. 

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It was a perfect weekend for Lando as got maximum points both in Sprint and Main Race. Kimi was superb with best finish of P2. Max started from pitlane and finished P3.

Perfect Brazil for Lando

Lando seems to have found his groove and Oscar keeps on floundering. It was a perfect race for Lando as he took the Sprint Pole, then won the Sprint, got the Pole and then won the main race comfortably. He now has a healthy 24 points lead over Oscar. This all seemed distant at one point as Lando lost his touch and it was Oscar who was raking in the points. Things have turned and how.

Oscar started the weekend well and he seemed to be in touch this weekend. However the Sprint race was lacklustre and even the main race did not go well. He started from P4 in the race but a 10 second penalty for bumping into Kimi and then causing Charles to disqualify meant that it was a race to save points. He finished P5 and would not be happy with how things are. Three more race and a Sprint to go this season. Things can turn around quickly as even a single DNF can change everything. So needs to focus on the next race.

Brazil best weekend for Kimi

This was one weekend that Kimi wanted to go well. The 19 year old has been burdened with a lot thanks to the Mercedes seat besides George, who is in mega form. This weekend however it was Kimi who had the upper hand all the time. He was P2 in Sprint as well as in the main race. It is very important for him to get some good results before the season end as it will works wonders for his confidence. George was not in touch the entire weekend. He finished P4 and would not be happy to see his rookie teammate ahead of him.

Masterclass from Max in Brazil

It was another of the superlative performances from Max that just leaves everyone astounded. Last year he went from P17 to race win. This time he started even further back, literally from the pitlane and managed to finished P2. While he is far from Lando, Oscar is not that ahead. The fight is very much on. Yuki had another race to forget.

Same was the case with Ferrari drivers Charles and Lewis – both retired. Bearman had a great weekend as he finished P6. Both the B team Red Bulls finished P7 and P8. Nico was impressive at P9 and Driver no. 10 Pierre Gasly got the tenth place.

Brazil GP : Lando extends lead

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Lando started from Pole at Mexico and won with a healthy margin. Charles held on to P2 as Max was chasing him wildly.

Lando wins in Mexico

Before the Mexico GP, it was all about Piastri and Max. The gap between the two had closed in from 104 points 5 races ago to just 40 points. No one was talking about Lando who was still P2 and very much in the fight for the Championship. However in all the practice sessions it was Lando who looked very much in the groove and Oscar was all over the place. He has not been on the podium the last three races and it did not happen in Mexico either.

Oscar started with a 14 points lead to Lando. Now Lando is the Championship leader with Oscar just a point behind him. With 4 races more to go, including two Sprints, the fight for Championship is very much on.

Charles got P2 in Mexico

Ferrari did well in Quali with Charles at P2 and Lewis P3. However the race start, as it usually happens in Mexico, did not go well for Lewis. Max tried to overtake him from the outside and it did not go well. Lewis stuck to P3 but then Max tried again a few laps later and now it will Max and Ollie Bearman who went past him and Lewis was handed a 10 second penalty, which pretty much scuttled his race. He finished P8.

Charles stuck to his P2 position throughout the race but was challenged big time by Max on fresher softs. Charles was saved by the skin of his teeth all thanks to the Virtual Safety Car towards the end. He would still be very happy with the P2 position.

Max maxes in Mexico

This was not a track for Max to thrive. He has done very well in the last few races but the car did not suit the high altitude track. Still Max being Max tried to make the most of it. Max went for a lunge at the start and nearly crashed but escaped. He went on a different one-stop strategy which took him from P8 to P3. The flying Dutchman almost got the P2 if not for the last VSC. He is doing the most to get out of the car. The Championship for him seems remote but not impossible with 4 races to go.

Ollie Bearman had the race of his life. He went from P9 to P3 and was there for most of the race. Eventually Max overtook and he had to settle for P4 which is still his best finish in F1. Even his team-mate Ocon did very well to finish in the points at P9. Mercedes lacked a bit of pace here and Kimi finished P6 and George P7. Bortoleto got the final point at P10.

Mexico GP Top 10 : Lando wins big

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Lando Norris wins the race in Hungary as he tries a different strategy. Oscar finished P2 and George P3

Lando Hungary

It wasn’t the start that worked well for Lando and it has been a repeat occurrence many times over. Lando was in a good position with Oscar in all the practice sessions. However in the Quali Charles pulled out a mighty one and snatched a Pole with Oscar in P2 and Lando in P3. Things got worse at the start as Lando was overtaken by George as well as Alonso. Hungary is not a track where it is easy to overtake. Lando got past Alonso but found it difficult to get past George. So he tried a different strategy of going for only one pit stop as compared to two by the others.

It was not easy but Lando somehow pulled it off, running the Hards till the very end. His Championship rival and team-mate Oscar Piastri went for a two-stopper. On fresher Hards he was charging towards Lando at the end but the last 1-1.5 seconds was too much to cover. He went for a lunge in the second-last lap but it did not work out. Also he was a bit more cautious so as to not collide with his team-mate. Oscar would be not happy with the result but he is still leading the Championship by 9 points as we head into the summer break.

Lucky George in Hungary

Mercedes had the pace in the practice sessions but were still behind the McLarens and Charles LeClerc. George made the most of what he had and ended up on the podium. His pass on LeClerc was a bit dicey thanks to the Monegasque turning at the braking point but it was still fine. His team-mate Kimi did not have the pace though but still got the last point at P10.

Charles ruing race loss

Starting from Pole this was the best chance for Ferrari to score a race win in 2025. The start was good and Charles kept the lead ahead of McLarens in the first half. However things fell off the cliff in the second half as Charles couldn’t even manage to stay ahead of George in Mercedes. Later he said it was a chassis issue but we will never know.

Lewis Hamilton had a pretty bad weekend. The most successful driver at Hungary did not even get into Q3 while his team-mate got Pole. Even in the race he struggled and he finished P12. Lewis was visibly upset as things are not going well for him.

Aston magic in Hungary

Aston Martin was the surprise in Hungary. They showed solid pace with Fernando finishing P5 and Lance P7. Gabriel finished a stunning P6. Lawson got the P8 position and Max finished in P9. Too much turbulence at Red Bull right now.

Hungary 2025 Race Classification : Lando on top

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Lando Norris wins the rain soaked home race British GP as Oscar gets a 10 second penalty. Nico Hulkenburg scores his first podium after 239 race starts.

Lando wins home British GP

The McLarens certainly had the speed but it was Max Verstappen who was starting from Pole after putting in a stunning lap in Q3. Oscar was P2 and Lando P3. The rains were on the card and it certainly played a big role in the race. At the start Oscar got a good go and soon he was ahead of Verstappen and leading the race. His pace was dominant all throughout the race with all the pitstops and safety car and rain and sun. However just before the end of second safety car he braked too hard and Max had to take evasive action. The stewards deemed it to be erratic driving and handed him a 10 second penalty, effectively demoting him from P1 to P2. Oscar was very angry with this penalty but he had no other option.

The person to benefit from this was Lando Norris. After the second race restart Max had a spin and was delegated to P10. Lando was P2 then and with the 10 second penalty he effectively became P1. It was a home race win for Lando and he couldn’t have been happier although he would have liked the race winner in better circumstances. The points gap between Lando and Oscar is just 8 points and there is half a season still left. This fight will certainly go down the wire.

Hulkenburg first podium

Nico Hulkenburg will rememver the British GP for a long time ahead. After 239 race starts Nico finally scores a podium. The day started badly in P19 position. However thanks to the rains and some good strategy calls he got the P3 position. There was a threat from Hamilton towards the end but he managed to keep the gap and score his maiden podium. Stake F1 team has done well in the last few races and this reflected in the today’s result too. This is a big turnaround for them.

Lewis P4 at British GP

While Nico broke one record, another one got broken by Hamilton. For the first time in the last 11 years he was not on the podium for British GP. The Ferrari was tough to drive in the rains but he would be happy with P4 finish. Charles meanwhile had a bad race and he was out of the points. Ferrari are now P2 in the Constructors and fighting hard with the Mercedes although McLaren are too far ahead in the Championship.

Max had it tough

Max started from Pole but the low downforce setup did not help him much. Still he was able to keep the P2 position until the spin towards the end putting him back to P10. He recovered a bit to finish P5. Yuki Tsunoda had another weekend to forget with no points scored.

People to benefit from the race and good strategy were Gasly at P6, Stroll P7 and Albon at P8. Alonso finish P9 while George Russell got the final point.

British GP Top 10 : Lando wins home race

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Lando Norris wins the race in Austria comfortably. Oscar gave a fight but could not catch up. LeClerc was the distant third.

Super Lando in Austria

Lando made a brilliant comeback in Austria after a bad crash in Canada. He was not there in FP1 as his car was given to Alex Dunne ( who was very impressive in his first stint in F1). From P2 onwards Lando was right on the point. He topped the sheets in FP2 and FP3 and converted his pace advantage to a Pole Position. Oscar was close but not close enough. He was not able to do the final lap in Q3 due to yellow flag. Starting from P3 in the race, Oscar quickly got ahead of LeClerc and got in the hunt for chasing Lando. He was close to Lando for the first 20 laps but was unable to overtake as Lando played the smart game. There was a point where Oscar went for the plunge and locked his brakes at turn 4. Thankfully there was no crash but he realized that he pushed too far. In the second stint Oscar was not able to mount a challenge and they finished 1-2. Oscar still leads the Championship but only by 15 points, which is not a lot given we have a long season ahead. Lando was calm and composed throughout the weekend and that paid off handsomely. He will need more of such weekend if he wants to win the Championship.

Ferrari upgrade in Austria

Ferrari got upgrades in Austria and they worked well overall. LeClerc finished P3 and Hamilton P4, though they were very far from the McLarens. Charles did well in Quali and got a slot on the front row. However he lost it on the first lap and never had the pace to challenge the McLarens. They would still be satisfied with the result.

Mercedes failure

High temperature is a kryptonite for Mercedes and it showed clearly here in hot Austria. George won the race in cool Canada but could not do much in Austria. 5th is the best that he could manage. Kimi locked his rears and crashed into Verstappen, effectively ending the race for both of them.

Home zero for Red Bull

Austria is the home race for the Red Bulls and will go from here without scoring any points. Tsunoda could not get in the top 10 and Max was out as Kimi crashed into him. A weekend to forget for the Bulls.

Liam Lawson had a fantastic weekend after a very rough start to the season. He finished P6. Gabriel Bortoletto scored his first F1 points as he finished P8. Ahead of him was Alonso who is also his manager. They fought hard but eventually Alono came out ahead in P7. Nico got the other point for Stake at P9. Ocon got the last point at P10.

Austria GP : Race Classification. Lando winner.

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Lando Norris claws back in the Championship as he wins the race in Monaco. He was followed by home hero LeClerc and Piastri came P3.

Lando Magic in Monaco

Lando Norris has been beating himself up in the past few races for not being up to the mark. His less experienced team-mate got better result and when Oscar did not then it was time for Max to snatch the result. Not in Monaco. Lando was in fine form in all the practice sessions and he got the Pole position in all critical Qualifying at Monaco. He did have a lockup at the first turn but somehow managed to come out of it unscathed. From then on there was no looking back. Lando managed the pace well to win the race in Monaco. He is now just 3 points behind Oscar and firmly in the Driver’s Championship race.

Oscar struggled in all the session. In his own words he has hit the wall more often than in the entire season. Yet he managed to keep the pace and stay in the fight. Getting P3 is not ideal but he will be content with it given the struggles in coming to grip the car on an unforgiving street track.

Monaco hero doing well

Home boy Charles LeClerc was frustrated coming to Monaco. The Ferrari at best is the 4th fastest car and they have been struggling to even get points at times. Yet Charles topped all the three practice session and came P2, just short of Pole, in the Qualifying. He managed to keep his race clean and finished P2 on the podium in front of his adoring home crowd.

Lewis Hamilton did a good job in Quali to come P4 but got a 3-place grid penalty for impeding Max. He finished P5 in the race and would be satisfied with the result. There is still a lot of work to be done from his side to fully integrate and extract the maximum from the car.

Max maxed in Monaco

He did not have the fastest car. Max started P4 in the race and finished in the same position. He was in front and was waiting for the Red flag which never came, eventually settling down for a place just outside the podium. He is still very much in the Driver’s Championship and it will be interesting going forward, especially with stricter rules for flexi-wing from Barcelona. Yuki Tsunoda finished outside points and he had another race to forget.

Racing Bulls to the fore

Rookie Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson had a great race and both finished in points. They managed the strategy well to slow down the cars behind them, allowing the other team-mate to get a free pitstop and holding the position. Hadjar finished P6 and Liam P8. Same strategy was deployed by Williams to get P9 and P10. Ocon got an impressive P7 whereas Mercedes had a race to forget with a bad Quali session and equally bad strategy in the race.

Monaco Top 10 : Lando wins

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Lando wins the rain soaked first race of 2025 at Melbourne Australia. Max Verstappen came second and George third.

Mighty Lando in Melbourne, Australia

When the 2025 practice sessions happened in Bahrain it was already clear that the McLarens were alarmingly fast. At one in the race when the dry intermediates were on, Lando had almost 17 seconds of gap against Verstappen. If this is how things will be then expect McLaren to be very very dominant in 2025. The race at Melbourne was marred by rain and everyone struggled to stay on top of the game. However it was Lando Norris who kept his head high in all the chaos around him. Through all the shunts and race re-starts it was Lando who managed to keep the lead throughout. He hardly made any mistakes and managed to keep the car on track. This was a very deserved victory for the Briton. 2025 is a long season but McLaren and Lando look very strong already.

Home hero in Australia, Oscar Piastri, also had a solid start as the locked the front row. As the race started he had some solid and was reeling in Lando Norris. Then the team-orders came to hold the position to weather-out the wet spell. Oscar did not like it but accepted somehow. He was comfortably in the second spot but then went wide and could not control the car, spinning it uncontrollably and was into the grass. Still he was able to salvage it and got to 9th position but will be ruing it badly.

Max overachieving in Australia

The current World Champion Max Verstappen had to work the car to make sure he was with the McLarens. The years of experience showed up as Max hustled his car to stay close to Lando Norris. He did not make any mistakes and was threatening Lando at the end of the race. However Lando was calm and Max eventually finished second here in Australia. As of now there seems to be a three-way fight between Lando, Oscar and Max for the top spot.

His new team-mate Liam Lawson was unlucky though. The second Red Bull seat seems to be cursed. He did not have a good quali session and in the race too he slipped and crashed as he had started from the pit lane. Thankfully the next race is just around the corner in China next week.

Mercedes in Australia

They do not have the fastest car. Yet George managed to stay out of trouble to eventually finish on the final step of the podium. Rookie Kimi Antonelli also had a very good day as he kept moving up the grid to get P4 position. Alex Albon got a nice P5 and Lance Stroll P6. Hulkenburg finished P7 surprisingly. It was a day to forget for Ferrari as Charles finished P8 and Lewis Hamilton P10. The rookies had a tough day as Bortoleto, Hadjar, Doohan all crashed out. Even Bearman could not do much. These are all good learning for the rookies.

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McLaren wins the Constructor’s title in Abu Dhabi as Lando gets the race. The two Ferrari drivers Carlos and Charles finish P2 and P3 respectively.

McLaren wins Constructors at Abu Dhabi

McLaren gets the Constructor‘s Championship in the final race here at Abu Dhabi. However it was not as smooth sailing as they would have expected, having started from P1 and P2. While Lando got a good start and kept things in control, Oscar was bumped into by Max Verstappen, effectively sending him back of the grid. Coupled with a 10 second penalty, the rest of the race was all about bouncing back and he finished in the final podium point at P10.

Lando drove a brilliant race at Abu Dhabi, made no mistake and won the race. This coupled with a healthy lead of 21 points over Ferrari ensured that McLaren won the Constructors. While it has happened many times in 2024 that Lando got the pole but lost the position on the first lap, Abu Dhabi was one where he did not make any mistake. This was suppose to be his year as he had the fastest car for a majority of the season. However in-experience raised its ugly head and Max was bang on the money everything. So while the Driver’s Championship went to Max, McLaren at least managed to cling to the Constructor’s.

Ferrari valiant but missed it at Abu Dhabi

Ferrari had a very good race but it was just not enough to snatch the title. Charles LeClerc had a miserable time at Abu Dhabi with the 10-place grid penalty and deleted lap in Q3, effectively starting from P19. No one expected much from such a situation. However he drove brilliantly and was at P8 just after the first lap. From then onwards he kept on climbing up to eventually finish P3. Carlos did a very fine job too and kept up the pressure on Lando. However in pushing extra he lost his tyres and in the end did not have the pace to mount a challenge to Lando. Still both the Ferrari drivers finished on the podium and they would be happy with the result in the final race of the season.

Mercedes farewell for Lewis Hamilton

It was the last race for Lewis Hamilton with the Mercedes team, unarguably the most successful partnership in F1 history. Lewis had an unlucky Quali session and was starting from the back of the grid. Then like a true Champion he stormed through the field to eventually finish in the P4 position. This was an apt farewell for the seven time World Champion. George had a decent race too and he finished P5.

Red Bull woes at Abu Dhabi

It was not a day for Red Bulls but they had it coming. Sergio Perez went DNF as the race started and that pretty much sums up his 2024 season. It would be tough for him to continue in that seat despite having a 2-year contract extension. Max, having already won the Driver’s Championship, went Kamikaze on Oscar as the race started. This gave him a 10 second penalty and anyway did not have the pace to challenge up. He finished P6 but wouldn’t mind it as the season comes to a close.

Gasly and Hulkenburg were impressive to finish in P7 and P8 and Alonso finishing in P9. Overall it was an interesting race and a fitting end to the 2024 season.

Abu Dhabi GP: 2024 Drivers and Constructors standing

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