A few laps of squealing tires on the finish line before escaping from the passenger compartment and jumping into the arms of his staff, his loved ones, then going to clap the hands of dozens of supporters. All while keeping his yellow helmet screwed on his skull. The Briton Lando Norris, 26, can savor: this Sunday, December 7, he won his first Formula 1 world champion title in Abu Dhabi. A place on the podium at the last grand prix of the season, that of Yas Marina, assured him the title: he finished third in the race, behind Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
The title is not only unprecedented for Norris: it also comes at the end of a season of exceptional suspense. Because at the start of this last race in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, there were three candidates to be able to win the world title, a scenario that F1 had not known since 2010, when Sebastian Vettel snatched the coronation from three other contenders still in the running during the last race of the year, already in Abu Dhabi.
Mathematically, the Briton Norris held the rope in the championship: he moved into the lead with 408 points, or 12 lengths ahead of Verstappen and 16 over Piastri. But a dark scenario existed: the one where he finished 4th while Verstappen won the race. The quadruple Dutch world champion accomplished the second part of the equation, but Landis was able to stay on the podium, not letting Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) come and challenge him for third place. Under the checkered flag, the McLaren driver is finally crowned by two small points (423 against 421) ahead of Verstappen.
