The 2025 season sparked plenty of debate, especially around Lando Norris winning the championship. After 24 race weekends, the top three drivers entered the final round separated by just 13 points. Abu Dhabi ultimately handed victory to Lando by a mere two points. The McLaren MCL39 proved to be one of the most competitive cars in recent years, with nearly double the points in the Constructors’ Championship compared to second-place Mercedes.
Despite the car’s clear superiority, Lando’s title came only at the last race and with just a 2-point margin out of his 423 points. This is why many fans initially struggled to appreciate McLaren’s driver as champion. Yet, looking more closely at the season, it becomes clear that, as always, the winner is always right.
Mistakes were made by everyone, not just Lando
All teams and drivers, if they could, would go back and change certain moments of the championship. This year, the public witnessed plenty of mistakes from drivers and teams, not only at the back but throughout the grid.
Oscar Piastri started brilliantly, and after Lando Norris retired in Zandvoort, he seemed destined for the title. However, race after race, victory slipped away due to multiple errors, particularly in Baku. The mental strength, once thought to be his strong suit, worked against him.
Max Verstappen had an exceptional season and was undoubtedly the fastest driver throughout 2025. With Red Bull’s early-2025 car, he arguably shouldn’t even have been in the title fight. Yet mistakes happened for him too, including contact with George Russell in Barcelona and a spin at Silverstone after a safety car restart, costing potential wins. Considering Lando’s retirement in Zandvoort, the points Max lost were significant.
McLaren also made missteps during the season, notably the double retirement in Las Vegas. Lando, however, was remarkably consistent, extracting the most from the incredible MCL39 whenever possible, achieving 18 podiums out of 24 races. He made mistakes, like in Montreal, but showed impressive composure in most events.
Comparing 2024 to 2025
The best comparison is not between Lando, Max, and Piastri in 2025, but between Lando Norris in 2024 and 2025. Both seasons featured competitive cars and strong championship rivals. In Verstappen’s fourth-title season, Lando made numerous mistakes under pressure, with Abu Dhabi as the only exception. Often unsure of himself and sometimes arrogant, this contributed to mixed fan appreciation.
In 2025, the arrogance remained but he openly admitted it in post-season interviews and publicly apologized. More importantly, his mental strength shone: mistakes happened, but pressure was no longer an issue, and the math confirmed his success. Congratulations to Lando, the first is never forgotten.
In summary, Lando Norris’s 2025 championship victory is the result of a significant personal and professional evolution. While critics point to the narrow two-point margin and the superiority of the McLaren MCL39, a look at the season as a whole shows that Norris succeeded where his rivals faltered. By combining high-level consistency with a newfound mental resilience that allowed him to overcome the mistakes of 2024, Norris proved that he could handle the weight of a title fight, ultimately making him a deserving champion in one of the most closely contested seasons in modern Formula 1 history.
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