Lando Norris finally has the trophy in his hands.

Weeks after sealing a nail-biting Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship in Abu Dhabi, the McLaren star has been officially crowned 2025 world champion at the FIA prize-giving gala in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Under the bright lights of motorsport’s biggest awards night, Norris walked onto the stage and received the World Drivers’ Championship trophy that confirms, in metal and marble, what the points already told us: this was his year.

In doing so, the 25-year-old becomes the 35th World Drivers’ Champion in F1 history and the latest name to join the sport’s most exclusive club.

The moment Norris became F1 world champion

The story of this trophy did not start in Tashkent. It started at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in a title decider that had all the tension F1 fans crave.

Going into the final race, the championship was still open. Three drivers were in the fight: Norris in the McLaren, Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, and Oscar Piastri, Norris’s own team-mate. The maths was tight, the pressure even tighter.

Norris did not need to win the race. He just needed to score enough points to stay ahead of Verstappen over a full season of work. By finishing third under the Yas Marina lights, Norris did exactly that. When the flag fell, the calculators confirmed it: Norris was champion by just two points.

Media reports captured it simply: Norris claimed his first ever Formula 1 world title in the final race of 2025, completing a comeback in a season that was both unpredictable and gripping from start to finish.

“Two points. One trophy. That’s the kind of title fight F1 has been missing.”

Why the real celebration had to wait for the FIA gala

Fans watching Abu Dhabi might have wondered why Norris did not immediately lift the big silver World Championship trophy on the podium. That is where tradition – and the rule book – come in.

F1’s regulations and long-time customs say the official World Drivers’ Championship trophy can only be presented at the FIA’s end-of-season prize-giving gala. This event brings together champions from many series, from Formula 1 to rallying and beyond, and is the sport’s formal awards night.

This is why the true crowning of every F1 champion, including Norris, happens away from the racetrack. The champion does the emotional work on the Sunday of the final race. The FIA does the formal ceremony weeks later, under the gala’s bright stage lights.

This year’s gala took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a fresh backdrop for F1’s biggest moment of the winter. In front of the motorsport world, Norris was called to the stage and handed the trophy he had chased all season.

“I won the championship my way” – the Norris mentality

Since Abu Dhabi, Norris has made one thing clear in interviews: he does not want the title to change who he is as a driver or as a person.

Speaking to F1’s official channels, he summed up his season with a line that already feels like part of his legend: “I won the championship my way.”

That quote says a lot. It suggests a driver who believes in his own path, his own style, and the work that got him to this level. Norris has grown from the smiling rookie to a complete racer who can handle pressure, long campaigns and fierce rivals like Verstappen, yet he still wants to stay grounded.

For McLaren and its fans, that attitude matters. It points to a champion who is hungry for more, not someone who will ease off after one big success.

“If this is Norris ‘my way’, imagine what happens when McLaren find even more speed.”

McLaren’s dominant 2025: a season that reset the grid

The gala did not just celebrate Norris. It also shone a spotlight on McLaren’s wider 2025 success.

The team’s season has been described as dominant, and that word matters in modern F1. In a sport shaped for years by Mercedes and then Red Bull control, seeing the papaya orange of McLaren become the benchmark again was one of the major stories of the year.

McLaren’s rise was not built on luck. It came from a strong car, sharp strategy calls and a driver line-up that pushed each other hard. Norris and Piastri were both in the title conversation right up to the final race, a clear sign of how powerful the package was across the full calendar.

At the FIA Awards, that dominance was front and centre in F1’s official coverage. Norris’s Drivers’ Championship was the headline, but it was framed within a bigger story: McLaren’s return as a force that can reshape the title fight for years to come.

The Verstappen factor and a title decided on details

No modern F1 title win is complete without talking about Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver has been the reference point of this era, and pushing past him over a full season is a major statement.

Norris beat Verstappen by just two points in the final standings. That tiny gap is what makes this championship feel so valuable. In a close fight like this, every small choice counts:

• Every pit stop
• Every set-up tweak on a Friday
• Every risky overtake that works – or does not

Reports from the gala also noted Verstappen’s absence from the ceremony, a small but noticeable detail on a night that celebrated the man who finally got the better of him over a season.

“Norris didn’t just beat Verstappen in a race – he beat him over 24 of them. That changes how the grid looks at him.”

A three-way title fight F1 badly needed

The 2025 championship was not just about Norris and Verstappen. Oscar Piastri’s role in the story is crucial.

Having two McLaren drivers in the title hunt added a layer of drama that F1 has often missed in recent years. Team-mate fights are usually the purest measure of a car’s strength, and when both drivers are still in the hunt at the finale, it shows just how well the team has done.

With Norris, Verstappen and Piastri in the mix going into Abu Dhabi, fans had a three-way narrative to follow. That matters for the sport. It keeps neutral viewers locked in, it creates debate, and it gives every session – from practice to qualifying – an extra edge.

In the end, Norris’s third place in Abu Dhabi was enough to slam the door shut. But the fact the battle went that far, that late, is a big reason why this title will be remembered as one of the more dramatic in recent seasons.

What this title means for Norris, McLaren and F1’s future

Becoming the 35th World Drivers’ Champion puts Norris in a group that includes legends from every era of Formula 1. That alone changes how history will see him.

For Norris himself, the trophy he picked up in Tashkent is proof that his journey – from karting star to F1 rookie to world champion – is real and complete. For McLaren, it is official confirmation that their long rebuild since their last title years ago has finally paid off.

For the sport, this title may mark a turning point. A new champion often signals a new phase in F1. If Norris and McLaren can keep this level, the Verstappen era might now be sharing the stage with something new: an age where several teams and drivers can trade blows over a whole season.

And for young fans watching, the story is simple and powerful. A driver known for his humour, his streaming and his open personality has proven he is also cold and calm enough to close out a world title in a high-pressure three-way fight.

From Yas Marina to Tashkent: a season sealed in silver

The image that will last from this winter is not from a race track but from the stage in Uzbekistan: Lando Norris, in formal wear instead of fireproof overalls, lifting the 2025 World Drivers’ Championship trophy for the cameras and for the record books.

The work was done in Abu Dhabi, where a third-place finish under the lights turned into a two-point edge over Max Verstappen. But only at the FIA prize-giving gala did the sport’s own traditions catch up with the standings and make it official.

Lando Norris is the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion. The trophy is finally his. The bigger question now is simple: how many more times will he walk onto that stage?