Verstappen takes the lead
The Dutchman pounced on Piastri and easily passed him on lap 41. Piastri was in agony and ended up stopping at the end of the 41st lap. He puts on the mediums and comes out second in front of Norris.
Norris covers Leclerc’s strategy
Norris’ second save. He covers Leclerc’s strategy. He puts back hard rubbers. He came out 3rd with five seconds ahead of Russell.
Second stop for Leclerc
The Ferrari opts for a second stop and puts the mediums back on. He came out fifth, two seconds behind Russell.
Ocon 8e
The Frenchman goes strong in this race and passes Bortoleto for 8th place.
Verstappen fond sur Piastri
Piastri no longer has any rhythm and Verstappen is back to three seconds. The McLaren strategy with the Australian is strange.
Piastri still on track
The Australian leads the race on lap 35 but Piastri has to stop.
Second stop for Hamilton
In anonymity, Hamilton stops a second time for the mediums. He comes out 19th.
Norris in ideal position
The Briton is 27 laps from the title. He is virtually second since Piastri, leader, has to stop. Leclerc is almost three seconds behind Norris who finds himself in a quiet zone.
Tsunoda penalized, Norris relieved
The Japanese is penalized five seconds for zigzagging. Norris is ultimately not penalized. Strange but the Briton can breathe.
Alonso drops Antonelli
Superb pass from the outside by Alonso on Antonelli. The Spaniard takes 9th place.
Leclerc very fast
The Monegasque has just set the lap record and is within two seconds of Lando Norris.
Leader plates
In front, Piastri, who started hard, still hasn’t stopped. He leads the race with 17 seconds ahead of Verstappen and 22 seconds ahead of Norris.
Norris under investigation
Watch out Norris. The Briton’s case is now officially under investigation. Norris risks a five-second penalty.
Leclerc 4th
The Monegasque also passed Tsunoda and found himself 4th. He is more than two seconds behind Norris.
Attention Norris
The Briton overtook Tsunoda but Norris had all 4 wheels off the track. According to the regulations, this is a penalty.
Verstappen stops, Piastri leads
At the end of the 23rd lap, Verstappen stopped and put on the hard tires. Good save from Red Bull. Verstappen comes out second. Piastri takes the lead.
Norris passes Tsunoda directly
Norris blows the Japanese traffic jam directly but with all four wheels off the track.
Norris arrive sur Tsunoda
The Briton is approaching second behind the Japanese and will have the DRS. What will Tsunoda do?
Red Bull warns Tsunoda
Tsunoda’s engineer warns the Japanese that Norris is coming. The Red Bull pawn will be used, an important moment in the race to come.
Leclerc under investigation
The Monegasque is under investigation for moving in the braking zone in front of Russell. In the meantime, he is 5th after overtaking Stroll and Lawson.
Double pass from Norris
Norris attacks and double overtakes Stroll and Lawson with DRS. Norris is fifth and will fall on Tsunoda, Verstappen’s teammate.
Norris passe Antonelli
A true friend of Norris since Qatar, Antonelli lets Norris pass and does not attack him afterwards. Sainz also moves aside. Norris can breathe. He is 7th.
Norris in traffic
The McLaren came out in a DRS train led by Lawson with Stroll, Sainz and Antonelli.
Norris in the stands
Important moment. Norris stops at the end of the 16th lap. He puts on the hard tires during a superb stop. Leclerc and Alonso follow the strategy. Norris comes out 9th behind Antonelli.
Norris and Leclerc won
While Piastri is closing in on Verstappen, Norris has let go and finds himself 5 seconds behind Verstappen. Leclerc has also won since he is two seconds behind Norris.
Russell and Hadjar stop
Fifth, Russell put on the hard tires at the end of the 14th lap. Hadjar imitates him. Russell comes out 14th behind Colapinto but ahead of Hamilton. Hadjar returns to the track 18th.
Lawson penalized
The New Zealander was under investigation for defending a little too hard on Bearman and was penalized five seconds. A sanction to be carried out when stopping.
Piastri returns to Verstappen
The leader doesn’t really push forward and Piastri gets closer. The gap dropped below two seconds as Norris took some space with Leclerc.
Leclerc has rhythm
A top 4 is emerging with Verstappen, Piastri, Norris and Leclerc. Fifth, Russell is not in the same rhythm.
Norris gives himself some air
The Briton took Leclerc out of the DRS and the Ferrari is now beyond second. A little breathing room for the McLaren.
The first stops
At the end of lap 8, the drivers who started on softs change their tires and put on hard tires. Hamilton and Albon are concerned. Hulkenberg stopped at the end of the 7th lap.
The top 5 in round 9
- Verstappen
- Plates +2s
- Norris +3.5s
- Leclerc +4.6s
- Russell +6.5s
There’s a lot of discussion at McLaren
Piastri’s attack on Norris creates a bit of chaos at McLaren. The Australian is asked to speed up so as not to hinder Norris’ pace but the Australian continues his race.
Leclerc still close to Norris
For the moment, Norris still virtually has the title in his pocket but Leclerc is close and if the Briton falls from the podium, Verstappen would then be virtually champion.
Verstappen control
The Dutchman leads but does not escape. Voluntarily. He is two seconds ahead of Piastri but maintains a slow enough pace to keep a compact peloton behind him.
Norris under pressure from Leclerc
The Ferrari has pace at the start of the race and is offensive behind Norris who has to defend.
Russell passe Alonso
Despite having difficulty with his brake pedal, Russell passed Alonso and took fifth place.
The start on video
Hadjar passed Ocon
Behind, Hadjar and Ocon exchanged positions. Hadjar is 8th just ahead of Ocon.
Norris not at best
Verstappen in front gave himself a small cushion of more than a second on Piastri. 3rd, Norris has difficulty following Piastri and Leclerc is close.
Piastri passe Norris !
Amazing. Oscar Piastri attacks his teammate Lando Norris. The Australian, despite his hard tires, passed Norris on his second attack. He is second.
Smooth start, Verstappen leader
The first turn goes well. Verstappen closes the door on Norris while Piastri is glued to Norris.
Let’s go to Abu Dhabi!
The lights have just gone out and the last race of the 2025 F1 season has started. The drivers head towards the first turn. 58 laps are to be covered. Happy racing to all.
The training tour
The drivers begin the warm-up lap. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are on mediums while Piastri, 3rd, starts on hard tires. The other Red Bull pawn, Yuki Tsunoda, 10th, also starts on hard tires.
Previous 2010, 2016 and 2021
This is not the first time that the title has been decided in the last race. Everyone remembers the 2021 season with this battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The two arrived tied in Abu Dhabi where the Dutchman won his first coronation after an incredible end to the race.
In 2016, Hamilton chased his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg and did everything to overthrow him, not respecting the instructions, but the title went to the German.
In 2010, there were four of them who could be world champions. Hamilton started from afar and Alonso and Webber were the favorites. The latter two scored and Sebastian Vettel, who was 15 points behind, took the opportunity to win and win his first title.
The stars present
As usual, the stars are present on the grid in Abu Dhabi. Thierry Henry is there, just like Ronaldinho. We also note the presence of Nigel Farage and Gordon Ramsay.
Jakub Porzycki / REUTERS
The Blues: Ocon and Hadjar in the game
If Pierre Gasly had worked miracles in November, managing to get his Alpine into Q3, the Norman did not work a miracle in Abu Dhabi and will start 19th on the grid. On the other hand, the other tricolors were smiling on Saturday. Just announced at Red Bull next season, Isack Hadjar has not let up the pressure and will start 9th, just behind Esteban Ocon. The Haas driver finally regained performance and set the 8th fastest time.
Verstappen’s pole in video
The starting grid
The drivers take to the grid
The drivers are doing warm-up laps before taking their place on the starting grid.
Verstappen’s pole ahead of Norris and Piastri
The three candidates for the title shone in qualifying. Max Verstappen is the one who took the spotlight the most by slamming the pole, the 48th of his career. The Dutchman was a step ahead of the others on Saturday, pushing the competition back two tenths. And the competition is called McLaren. Lando Norris accompanies the Dutchman on the first row, for a first which promises to be explosive, since Oscar Piastri, 3rd, follows suit. Then, the extras are named George Russell (4th) and Charles Leclerc (5th).
The class photo of 2025
Norris, Verstappen or Piastri, who will be crowned?
Lando Norris is of course on favorable waivers before this last round of the season. The McLaren driver leads the championship in Abu Dhabi with 408 points. He is twelve points ahead of Max Verstappen (396 pts) and sixteen ahead of Oscar Piastri (392 pts), his teammate. The situation is quite simple for Norris since if he finishes on the podium, he will be crowned champion for the first time. Any other result and the Briton will be in danger against the Dutch shark, quadruple title holder.
Hello everyone!
Welcome to Le Figaro to follow LIVE the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 24th and final round of the Formula 1 season. The start will be given at 2:00 p.m. on the Yas Marina track.
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