British McLaren driver Lando Norris (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) McLaren’s Lando Norris secured his first Formula One championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix final on Sunday.Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the race, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was second and Norris was third. This result allowed Norris to overtake Verstappen by two points in the final championship standings.Piastri, also fighting for his first F1 championship, finished the season in third place, 13 points behind Norris.At 26, Norris became the first British champion since Lewis Hamilton won in 2020, preventing Verstappen from claiming a fifth consecutive title.In the championship battle, Norris led Verstappen by 12 points and Piastri by 16 points entering the final race.On the grid, Verstappen was on pole, with Norris next to him and Piastri in third. Verstappen needed Norris to finish fourth or lower, while Piastri needed to win with Norris outside the top five.Despite McLaren’s driver and team strategy errors throughout the season, Verstappen’s impressive late-season performance, including his eighth win of the season and 71st of his career, was not enough to overtake Norris.The McLaren team celebrated as CEO Zak Brown congratulated his new champion.“Lando, this is Zak from McLaren. Is this the world champion hotline? You did it! You did it! Great,” said Brown.“Oh my god, thanks so much. I love you guys. Thanks for everything,” Norris responded emotionally, breaking into tears.After finishing the race, an emotional Norris stayed in his car for a while before joining his parents on track and celebrating with members of his McLaren team.
