F1 Results And Report As Title Decided In Captivating 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Check out the full results and report as the F1 world drivers' championship is finally decided.

Abu Dhabi race start 2025 | Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Lando Norris secured a first Formula 1 world drivers' championship after an enthralling Abu Dhabi Grand Prix won by Max Verstappen.

Red Bull driver Verstappen led from pole to make it 11 conversions for polesitters from the past 11 races at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Oscar Piastri was second after a stellar move on his teammate on the first lap, though it wasn't enough for either him or Verstappen to deny Norris his crowning glory.

Stunning Piastri move as Verstappen does what he needs from the start

Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

A thrilling first lap saw all three protagonists get through the first sector cleanly, while behind, George Russell fell back to sixth, having been expected to be a potential spoiler into Turn 1.

But later in the lap, Piastri made a stunning swoop around the outside of Norris into Turn 9 to move up into second, despite having started on the hard tires.

That immediately put Norris under pressure from Charles Leclerc behind, with the Ferrari driver settling into DRS range of the McLaren.

By lap four, Leclerc was alongside Norris going into Turn 9, though Norris was able to defend. A team radio message suggested this pace from the Briton was pre-determined and focused on management, intended to bring him into play later in the race.

Fearless 💪

Here's that brilliant pass from Oscar! #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/1EZQ4s5VB2

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2025

Meanwhile, Russell was making up for his poor start and moved back into fifth, breezing past Fernando Alonso on the run to Turn 6.

Verstappen had stretched his advantage to 2.2s over Piastri by lap nine, with the Australian asked to pick up the pace and put the Dutchman under pressure by his pitwall.

Piastri was given more encouragement as he was told Verstappen's front tires were graining up, though that wasn't reflected in the laptimes - the gap remaining stable across the next three laps.

Norris had by now shaken Leclerc out of DRS range as he set his sights on those ahead of him, the information being relayed that he had tires in a better condition than the Red Bull at the head of the field.

A strategic spanner in the works for the top three came when Russell stopped on lap 14 to try and undercut Leclerc. In response to the potential chain reaction, Piastri began setting purple sectors and closing within 1.5s of the race lead.

George Russell, Mercedes | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team

McLaren pulled the trigger at the end of lap 16, Norris boxing for a set of hards and rejoining behind a train of cars - Liam Lawson, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli.

The team's hands were tied with Leclerc, Alonso and Russell all having pitted, but falling into that DRS train triggered memories of Alonso's own struggles that cost him the 2010 title at the same circuit.

Norris had to make ground and he lunged to the inside of Antonelli into Turn 5 on lap 18, before pouncing on former teammate Sainz into Turn 9.

The Briton continued the charge on fresher rubber, dragging his way past Alonso and Lawson into Turn 6. The Racing Bulls driver tried to fight back into Turn 9 with DRS but didn't have the grip to make it stick.

Tsunoda drama creates Norris tension

Here's a replay of Norris overtaking Tsunoda 👀#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/qi6NGBEECg

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2025

Leclerc, behind, was able to scythe his way through to keep the McLaren driver honest, with Verstappen's teammate Yuki Tsunoda next up the road.

The move came on lap 23 as Norris latched onto the back of the Red Bull with DRS - Tsunoda defending with all his might as Norris ran off the track surface down the straight as he was squeezed.

That was noted by race control, given all four tires were off-track, though that was seemingly caused by erratic driving from Tsunoda, who swerved his way down the straight. That was upgraded to a full investigation.

McLaren would have taken a deep sigh of relief as the race stewards came down with a five-second penalty for Tsunoda for his driving standards, Norris being let off the hook.

"That was a dangerous and unnecessary maneuver," described McLaren CEO Zak Brown during the race, suggesting the Japanese driver went over the line.

Final pitstops of the season shape destiny

McLaren Racing

By the time they had put 20 laps on their hard tires, Norris had put six seconds on Leclerc to give himself some breathing space - while Russell was outside a pitstop window.

But Ferrari stopped Leclerc for a second time on lap 39 to give another small headache for McLaren, the Papaya squad opting to react and consolidate third.

That left Piastri still on track with his original hard tires, with Verstappen homing into DRS range. The move for the lead was easy into Turn 6, while Norris came out in front of Russell and Leclerc to set himself in championship position.

Piastri then stopped at the end of the same lap to finally switch to mediums, returning in front of teammate Norris with the aim of chasing down the Dutchman in front.

With 15 laps to go, Leclerc on new mediums began pumping in fastest laps to close in on Norris again, who had gone to another new set of hard tires. The gap flew down from over six seconds to 4.4s after the Ferrari driver had overtaken Russell, showing tremendous pace in the SF-25.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari | Scuderia Ferrari

It quickly became apparent that Piastri didn't have the pace to close down the 23-second gap to Verstappen, so the only question regarding the championship fate was whether Leclerc would be able to catch Norris.

But the pace began to equalize with 12 laps to go, with McLaren being able to somewhat breathe entering the closing stages.

It was actually Norris who was fastest on track in the closing stages, but Verstappen was comfortable out in front to finish the season with eight wins, one more than his rivals.

Piastri held on for second with Norris third and Leclerc a fantastic fourth to end his year on a relative high.

The moment of glory 🏆#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/GJZJQ1oKnZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2025

Russell remained fifth but over 20 seconds back from Leclerc, with Alonso sixth for Aston Martin.

Esteban Ocon gave Haas seventh and held off a charging Lewis Hamilton, who made good use of a two-stop strategy to rise from 16th to eighth.

Oliver Bearman was ninth in a double points score for Haas, with Stroll making an alternate strategy work to round out his season with a top 10.

Gabriel Bortoleto lost out on a point for Sauber in the team's final F1 race, finishing just ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg.

Sainz was 13th with Tsunoda behind him after his penalty earlier in the race, with Antonelli a disappointing 15th in the second Mercedes.

Alex Albon was penalised for speeding in the pits and ended 16th ahead of Isack Hadjar, with Lawson, Pierre Gasly, and Franco Colapinto rounding out the classification.

F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025: Results

Position	Driver / Team
1	Max Verstappen / Red Bull
2	Oscar Piastri / McLaren
3	Lando Norris / McLaren
4	Charles Leclerc / Ferrari
5	George Russell / Mercedes
6	Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin
7	Esteban Ocon / Haas
8	Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari
9	Oliver Bearman / Haas
10	Lance Stroll / Aston Martin
11	Gabriel Bortoleto / Sauber
12	Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber
13	Carlos Sainz / Williams
14	Yuki Tsunoda / Red Bull
15	Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes
16	Alex Albon / Williams
17	Isack Hadjar / Racing Bulls
18	Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls
19	Pierre Gasly / Alpine
20	Franco Colapinto / Alpine

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