Lando Norris finally got his hands on the big one. And while the new World Champion stood under the lights in Uzbekistan, the man he dethroned stayed home with the flu — and sent his respect via video.
Max Verstappen, absent from the FIA Prize Giving after doctors advised against flying, offered a gracious nod to Norris and McLaren as the Brit officially became the 11th British world champion and the first McLaren title-winner since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Not the theatre anyone expected from a four-time title fight, but fitting for a season decided by a razor-thin two points.
“Big congratulations to McLaren and especially Lando,” Verstappen said in the recorded message. “You guys had an unbelievable season… enjoy it.” He also saluted FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on being re-elected, signed off with a “see you in 2026,” and left the gala to get on without him — as he’s long wished. Verstappen has called the end-of-year ceremony “nonsense” before. This time, illness spared him the RSVP.
Norris closed the books last weekend in Abu Dhabi with a measured third behind teammate Oscar Piastri, as Verstappen signed off his own campaign with a win. It was Verstappen’s eighth victory of the season — more than anyone else managed — but not enough to keep his run of titles alive. Norris and Piastri both finished the year with seven wins each in the MCL39, a car that became an everyday nightmare for the field once McLaren unlocked it.
The trophy handover to Norris felt like a generational pivot as much as a prize giving. A first title for the 26-year-old, an emphatic return to the summit for McLaren, and rare territory for Verstappen: beaten, just, across a 24-race calendar.
Abu Dhabi also reopened familiar scars. The post-race press conference turned spiky when Barcelona came up — that late-June flashpoint with George Russell that left the Red Bull with a 10-second penalty, ninth at the flag, and nine points lighter. Many have looked at that one moment and drawn a straight line to the championship’s outcome. Verstappen wasn’t playing that game.
“You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season,” he fired back. “The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come.” When a reporter’s reaction didn’t land well, Verstappen bristled again: “You’re giving me a stupid grin now, I don’t know. Yeah.”
He did, however, acknowledge the margins that brought him back into contention. “I’ve also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me in the second half,” he said, a nod to McLaren mishaps that helped slash what was once a triple-digit deficit to just two points by the end. It was vintage Verstappen: blunt, unsentimental, and accurate. Over 24 rounds, the ledger fills with more than one mistake or miracle.
None of that takes away from what Norris produced. His first title didn’t arrive via a single Sunday; it came through a season of clean execution under pressure, speed when it mattered, and a team that backed him with a rocket of a car after the summer. Piastri, too, was immense — seven wins of his own tell that story — and a large part of why McLaren never needed to overreach to protect the crown late on.
For Red Bull, the final tally is harsh, and probably instructive. Verstappen still won more than anyone; he still dragged the fight to the line with a sequence of strong Sundays; he still makes the improbable look routine. But the team around him wasn’t flawless, the opposition was relentless, and in 2025 that combination finally tipped the balance.
Back at the gala, the tone was respectful, if inevitably a little hollow without the sport’s dominant figure in the room. Norris, trophy in hand, is the newest name on a very old list. Verstappen, for once, is the hunter again. And if you listened closely to the video, there was no sulk — only a note of unfinished business.
The off-season will be short. The conversations won’t be. Was Barcelona decisive? Did McLaren let Verstappen back into it? Did Red Bull squander too many Sundays? You can debate all three and still arrive at the same conclusion: Norris earned this. Verstappen nearly stole it back. And 2026 already feels close enough to touch.
