All roads lead to Abu Dhabi this weekend for the final race of the season, and it’s geared to be the most intense Grand Prix we’ve witnessed in a while.
The title race is still on, and three drivers have the chance of becoming the 2025 world champion.
The 2025 season has been nothing short of exciting. Unlike the last few seasons where Max Verstappen reigned from beginning to the end, this time around, the McLaren duo stepped up and added a new rhythm.
Lando Norris currently leads the drivers’ standings and is set to claim this title if he finishes in the top three on Sunday.
Norris suffered a bit of a slump in the middle of the season, which led to teammate Oscar Piastri claiming the top spot on the leaderboard for many months.
But Norris was able to find himself and fight his way to the top, where he currently leads with 12 points.
Right at Norris’ tail is the Dutchman who has refused to give up. Verstappen has had a season like no other. It wasn’t the usual routine for him, like in previous years, when he snatched the title with a couple of races left.
Red Bull has not been at their best, and the car it put out this year did not give it much of a fighting chance.
Still, this season has offered the 28-year-old the opportunity to show that his status as a four-time world champion is not a fluke or simply down to driving the “fastest car”.
Verstappen’s path to the championship depends not just on his performance but on how the other two contenders finish. If he finishes first, Norris would have to finish fourth or lower for him to become a fifth-time world champion.
Things have not been easy for Piastri. At some point, it looked like the title was all but his, and a couple more wins would have secured it for him a few races back.
But the Australian is part of a team, and we have seen him fall in line with orders from above, which may have slowed his roll.
This is not to say Piastri’s current third-place position is a result of loyalty to the team, as he’s also suffered a few mistakes of his own.
While he’s still in the title race, his victory lies in him claiming first in Abu Dhabi and teammate Norris finishing sixth. Some might say that is unlikely to happen, but if there’s anything this season has shown, it’s that nothing is guaranteed.
