F1. Abu Dhabi 2025 Review
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By Katie Gover, Gavin Huet, Chelsea Wintle, Graeme Woolf, and Aiden McLaughlin
Driver of the Weekend
Katie:As much as I hate to say it (as a long time Norris fan), Max really did give Lando a run for his money. In saying this, I was surprised to see him behave and hope the McLaren’s experienced other misfortunes.
Chelsea: In his final race (for now) with #1 splashed across his livery, it was easily Max Verstappen. Pulling off the championship was always going to be a big ask, and to finish two points shy of Lando Norris is outstanding. Looking at the race alone, Verstappen always looked in control, at one point carrying a full pit stop advantage over the McLarens.
Aiden: I can’t begin to imagine the pressure Lando Norris was under at the weekend. Needing to ‘only’ finish third might sound straightforward but with so much potential jeopardy out there, the Brit done incredibly well to hold everything together, whilst under pressure from the likes of Charles Leclerc, and also overtake Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda. Now, it’s time to enjoy himself.
Gavin: Max Verstappen was unrivalled on the day, Oscar Piastri had the move of the day around the outside of his team mate, but ultimately it was third place man, and now World Champion that gets the nod this week. Lando Norris navigated the race well, and when he could have gotten flustered and lost as he has in the past, he kept his head down and did the job exactly as he had planned to. Well done Lando Norris, World Champion 2025.
Graeme: You could go either way here, but for me it’s Max Verstappen. He led from start to finish to end the season on a 3 race winning streak. It’s almost like he’s sticking it up McLaren after their dominance for most of the year and reminding them that he’s still a threat. Kudos to Lando Norris though for doing what he needed to do to win the Drivers title.
Talking Point
Katie: The Yuki vs Lando battle was crazy! For a second there, I thought Lando was going to be pushed into a wall and out of the race. But I couldn’t help but wonder why was Yuki being so overly loyal to a team that didn’t give him a seat next year?? When he said “I know what to do”- did he?? Surely with all of his experience, he knew that weaving is a no go?
Chelsea: Of course the night belonged to newly-crowned champion Lando Norris, who finally let the gravity of the situation take over as he bawled into his helmet. Being 4am NZT I didn’t linger for the celebrations, but did enjoy his former teammate Carlos Sainz gathering him up in a hug. The two built a solid friendship during their time at McLaren so it was a joyous thing to see them share in Norris’ victory.
Aiden: We’ll never know of course, but what would have happened had Red Bull sacked Christian Horner earlier than they did? The improvement under Laurent Mekies has been massive; it sounds like internal team spirit improved, more driver (well, Max) feedback was taken on and there is generally more collaboration across the board. Max and Red Bull came hard at McLaren in the later part of the season and will be hoping they can keep the momentum up entering 2026.
Gavin: The only real talking point for me was what McLaren would do if their drivers were not in good positions. Lando needed to be on the podium and at one stage it looked like the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was going to haul him in which would bring the Papaya Rules back into play. In the end it didn’t happen, which is a shame from a pure drama point of view, but at least we won’t have to endure any conspiracy theories either, well apart from “why did Lando not get a five second penalty for leaving the track when overtaking”. Ho hum.
Graeme: Well Lando did it, he won the title after a tough battle all season with Oscar Piastri mainly. Looking back, Oscar will no doubt rue his final third of the season. He had a good lead and from Baku onwards, he went off the boil opening the gates for Lando and Max to come through and overtake him for positions 1 & 2. You could see the weight lifted off him in the media pen afterwards. He’ll be hungry in 2026.
Gossip Time
Katie: You really do feel for Oscar. Lando brought him up in most of his interviews, praising and thanking him for his efforts. But it wasn’t hard to notice that he was absent for a lot of the celebrations. Even Lando’s mum gave him a big hug, like she could tell that he needed it. People on social media pointed out that he commented a simple “congratulations”, compared to the much more enthusiastic comments and posts from other drivers.
Chelsea: Liam Lawson chose the best race of the year to have his worst result of the year, having confirmed just last week another season with the RBs. Defending against fellow rookie Ollie Bearman, Lawson was cited for driving erratically, a delightful term that covers all manner of sins. In this case I assume he was weaving in order to prevent Bearman from passing, but the transgression was never actually shown on screen. As a result, Lawson took a five second penalty and finished the race in 18th. Roll on the Christmas break.
Aiden: Already Franco Colapinto looks like the driver under the most pressure in early 2026, with the rumour being that Irishman Alex Dunne will be joining Alpine as their reserve driver whilst also performing in F2. Colapinto needs to step up and take his second chance before it’s too late.
Gavin: Rumour has it (well this is Gossip Time) that Helmut Marko’s role is up for discussion over the winter break. I do not see what he brings to the team(s). For the person charged with finding the next big thing, you would think he would be hanging around the (junior) Racing Bulls team but nope, you always see him in a Red Bull shirt hanging out with the big boys and apart from publicly berating drivers and making offensive comments he doesn’t appear to be doing much. If Red Bull wants someone to throw out a couple of soundbites and deliver nothing then I am available for an immediate start.
UPDATE: Red Bull have now confirmed that Marko is leaving. So in the last year Red Bull have lost Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, and Helmut Marko – truly a team in transition.
Graeme: Who has the most to do this winter? Ferrari will not be happy at all with their season. Charles Leclerc showed glimpses, but his teammate and much hyped signing, Lewis Hamilton, performed below expectations. There are clearly many issues they need to resolve if they’re going to have any success in 2026, and they don’t have much time to do so. But you can never count them out, so watch out.
Looking Ahead
Katie: Super excited to see what the new cars of 2026 will bring. I’ll be at the Melbourne race to see it in person! On a side note, I read a theory online that Ferrari intentionally placed low on the constructor’s championship because lower placed teams get more practice time in the wind tunnel for their 2026 car. Judging by another depressing Lewis Q1 exit interview this week, I sincerely hope that wasn’t the case.
Chelsea: At this time of the year, I’m always experiencing a touch of F1 exhaustion, which lasts about three weeks before I’m pining for the season to start again. Looking back on my 2025 predictions, I did pick both the driver’s and constructor’s champions, but also called Lawson the rookie to watch and had a Pollyanna-like optimism about Lewis at Ferrari, so…. I think I could use the break. Happy holidays everyone.
Aiden: As David Croft reminded everyone, Melbourne is only three months away. But with the new regulations, it’s anyone’s guess as to what teams will be leading the pack in 2026. Have a great summer everyone!
Gavin: That’s it for this season. The next time you see a review it will be after the 2026 season opener in Melbourne. The teams are locked in, the regulations are changing, and no one knows what is going to happen. A new team in Cadillac, a change of engines for Red Bull, the Audi project, a new dawn for Ferrari (lol)… It will be interesting to see how the testing in February pans out, I expect a few surprises but really have no idea right now what they will be.
Thanks to all the contributors this season, and I hope to see you all back next season.
Graeme: Who knows what to expect next? It’s 90 days till they line up in Melbourne in March with new cars and new regulations. No one really knows what next year will be like, but surely we’d expect the same protagonists to be fighting it out at the front of the grid again. Maybe even Lewis Hamilton, after a winter of soul searching, might have one last hurrah.
Bonus Picture(s)
Oh to be able to hear this conversation between these two number two drivers.
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