From close calls and intense rivalries, the 2025 Formula One season kept millions of people entertained. The 2025 F1 season started on March 16 at the Australian Grand Prix and concluded with an insanely close battle for the World Drivers’ Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 7. The 2025 grid consisted of 10 teams, including McLaren, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams, Racing Bulls, Aston Martin, Hass F1 Team, Kick Sauber, and Alpine. Heading into the season, many knew which drivers to keep an eye on. These drivers included Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri. Another driver that caught the attention of many fans is Kimi Antonelli.
In 2024, former 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton retired from his position at Mercedes and joined Ferrari, driving alongside Ferrari’s golden boy, Charles Leclerc. This left a seat open for a newMercedes driver, which is any rookie or seasoned driver’s dream. Mercades decided to take a big risk for the 2025 season and gave their spot to 19-year-old rookie, Kimi Antonelli.
With 6 rookie drivers and 14 seasoned drivers, the season got underway. Right off the bat, McLaren began to take control over the season, averaging a gain of 34.7 points every race. Norris and Piastri immediately began to dominate the standings, with 7 first-place finishes in the first 10 races of the season, split between them. Oracle Red Bull racer and 4-time world champion, Verstappen, had a handful of podiums and a few first-place finishes under his belt for the beginning of the 2025 season, but was quickly falling behind the McLaren racers. At the time of the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 3, we hit the halfway point in the season. Often trading the lead, the McLaren drivers found themselves in the top two driver standings, leading the third and fourth-place drivers by over 100 points. Piastri took the lead at the halfway mark with 284 points, Norris closely behind with 275 points, and Verstappen trailing behind with 187 points. At this point in the season, many fans realized it would be nearly impossible for Verstappen to win his fifth World Championship title at the end of the season. With only 10 races left in the season at this point, every team and fan knew that the championship would most likely go to one of the two McLaren drivers.
With the chance of a championship victory decreasing, Verstappen pushed his car to the limits for the final stretch of the season. Once September hit, Verstappen defied everyone’s expectations and quickly climbed closer to the number of points held by Norris and Piastri. By October, during the United States Grand Prix, Verstappen had shrunk the difference between the leader, Piastri, and his points down to only a 40-point difference, and Norris was close behind, only 14 points under Piastri. McLaren began to hit a wall of their winning streak and became very inconsistent, costing them many points every race, allowing Verstappen to continue his climb to the top. In November, the Las Vegas Grand Prix took place, and because of an illegal plank wear on both McLaren cars, both drivers were disqualified, which assisted Verstappen in his fight for the win.
Kimi Antonelli also had a major switch in his driving performance and continued to get three podiums as a rookie, and helped Verstappen by holding off McLaren’s drivers in multiple races. Not only was he doing well in defending at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but he also drove 48 laps on the same set of tires. On average, Formula One Drivers will only go 15-25 laps on one set of tires. Risking his and the car’s safety, he pulled off the impressive stunt, landing himself on the podium and helping Verstappen secure first-place in that race.
On December 7, 2025, the World Drivers’ Championship took place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. With the point leader Norris at 408 points, Verstappen at 396 points, and Piastri at 392 points, the stakes were high. Knowing that it would be very difficult for Piastri to come out with a championship title, all the attention fell onto Norris and Verstappen. For Norris to win, he would need to finish in the top 3, Verstappen would need to win, and Norris would need to finish in 4th place or below.
With a down-to-the-wire battle with Verstappen, Norris ended up taking the title of the 2025 World Driver Champion. Norris got 3rd in the race, and Verstappen got first. Even though Verstappen won, Norris finished in the top 3, taking home the impressive title. While many fans hoped Verstappen would get his 5th champion title, everyone can agree that Verstappen put up an insane fight, making the 2025 F1 season worth watching. McLaren fans across the world were extremely happy with the result and proud of the new world champion, and can conclude that Norris deserves the title this year.
