It’s been a while since the FIA Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship was decided in the last race of the year.
Since 2021, the champion was known well in advance. This time around, the fastest caravan in the world treated its fans to some soap opera. The championship will be decided at the 2025 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
At the moment, the leader is Lando Norris, who looked like a future champ only a few races ago. Today, he’s only leading Max Verstappen by 12 points. His teammate, Oscar Piastri is also lurking behind in third, 16 points behind.
If we rewind the season, by only a few months, it was not easy to predict the scenario we have in the eve of the Abu Dhabi race. Piastri was not in contention, and it appeared like Verstappen has had his best days, and that he will not be contending for the title either. Fast forward to today, and both have more than realistic chances of going after Norris’ head.
The twist and turns of the year have been nothing short of amazing and thus we have one of the most interesting endings to the season in Formula 1 in recent memory. Once again, we find ourselves at the Yas Marina Circuit waiting for the race to wrap up and for the new champion to be crowned.
If you’re finding it hard to decide who will be the 2025 Champion when it’s all said and done in a few days, you can check out these Formula 1 expert picks and predictions. Also, take a look at our preview of the race, and what you could expect from all the actors on the racetrack.
The Road to Title
Lando Norris has had an amazing season. His fans will be glad to hear that he still holds the keys to his destiny in his hands. He can unlock the championship achievement if he manages to wrap up the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP on the podium.
The equation is clear for the British driver: be one of the top three performers in UAE and title is yours. The issue with anything being guaranteed in Formula 1 is that there’s no guarantees, and the condensed field at the Yas Marina Circuit doesn’t give advantage to a single driver.
So far in the year, McLaren has had the faster car compared to Red Bull, but that means little in the desert. Both teams have shown signs of strengths and weaknesses throughout the year, and at the pendulum of the season, the quality of the people in the cockpits will be the decider.
That’s how fans love it more, and the racing Gods have been generous this season, there’s no guaranteeing it. Before the weekend, only one thing is clear. Max Verstappen is the one who has more experience in situations like these. He is well known to be able to play mind games both at the racetrack and in the press.
The same can be said for his team too, as they’re used to winning by any means possible, and have been more than successful in the past few years.
The shadow of Qatar in UAE
McLaren has had an amazing season. At one point it appeared that they’re going to have both number one and number two drivers on the grid, while the constructors’ title was already wrapped up. In just a few weeks, and after an unprecedented McLaren debacle in Qatar it has all changed.
Formula 1 really is a sport of milliseconds. It is hard to say this, but the race in Qatar was not a win by Max Verstappen, it was an utter defeat by McLaren. They gave the win to the Dutch driver, and he was more than happy to take it and get himself in the title contention.
Many folks who plan to bet on Formula 1 will wager on Max to take home another title in the aftermath of the last few races where he showed that his experience could make all the difference in the end. It’s never wise to give points to an old school driver such as Max and McLaren could pay a hefty price for doing so.
Another issue that could lead to McLaren not winning the drivers’ title, is the fact that they have two contenders. The direct duel between Piastri and Norris could lead to Max getting in between and laying his hands on yet another title while the two men from McLaren could be left empty handed.
Regardless of who ends up a winner, if it’s McLaren’s driver, the fairness of the outcome and how they’re treated by the team afterward will play a role in the team’s future more than it will benefit in the present.
A blast from the past
They say that history repeats itself. The same could be said for the Formula 1 competition, as the 2025 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP looks a lot like the 2016 F1 title decider. What happened in 2016 was Lewis Hamilton’s coup of the title as he slowed down the pace of the race holding Nico Rosberg behind him with hopes that other drivers will take over the German and thus allow him to take home the title. Hamilton’s gambit failed to pay off.
Whether this will be a lesson that Max Verstappen will take notes from remains to be seen. Considering that Lando Norris needs to reach the podium to wrap up the title it might be possible that Verstappen will try to hold him behind some of the few other drivers to keep him out of the podium, while he races for one of the top spots on the day.
If the Dutch driver decides to take this approach, we need to describe it as a massive gamble, especially considering that Hamilton failed in his attempts back in 2016.
How will the form decide the champion?
Just like in any other sport, the athlete or a team in better form has better chances of winning a duel. Now, the in form diver by all accounts is Max Verstappen; he holds the reins of the 2025 Formula 1 title in his hands.
While the Dutch driver has had a poor start to the year by his standards, since the turn of the year, he has been nothing short of amazing. The second half of the season fully belonged to him, and that’s what makes him the top contender now.
As far as winning goes, he has the same number of wins as the boys from McLaren. Right now, he is second on the championship ladder, 12 points behind Lando Norris. While 12 points is nothing to scoff at, when we consider the form of both divers and the size of their confidence right now, Max is the clear-cut favourite to take home a win in Abu Dhabi and the title too.
Another factor that works in Verstappen’s favour is that McLaren drivers are currently out of form. Since the moment they’ve wrapped up the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Constructors’ championship they’ve been dropping points left and right while Max was picking up every win available to him.
The last few races of the season have been the worst possible for Norris and Piastri to lose their marbles. The double disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix could be seen as the last nail in the coffin of both Norris and Piastri championship aspirations. What followed was a poorly devised strategy for Qatar, and all of a sudden the championship race was wide open, and Verstappen, who was written off only two months ago, is now the number one contender despite Norris still holding the lead.
What all participants will be hoping for in Abu Dhabi is that a straightforward race will be on hands for all drivers. The best outcome for both the fans and teams and drivers involved is that everything is put in the hands of the racers, without those behind the curtains having to make tough calls.
At the end of the day, the people from McLaren have been awful in their decision making the last two races, and they will certainly feel the pressure coming into the UAE race.
A time to shine
The spotlight will be on Max Verstappen at the last race of the 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be an opportunity for Max to win his fifth consecutive title.
If Max manages to do so, he will become the first Formula 1 driver since Michael Schumacher to do so. Another big achievement for him to get here, is that if he wins the title, it will be after overcoming the biggest deficit in the history of the sport.
What’s working in his favour is that he has all the momentum. Also, in the past, Max gas shown the world that he does his best work when the lights are the brightest.
Who will win the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
At this moment, this appears to be an easy decision to make. Max Verstappen is in the best form of his life, and he is a clear-cut favourite to win this race and the championship too. Right now, the odds on Verstappen to take home the crown in UAE are set at 2.35.
The pundits are expecting a strong performance from the Dutch driver from the moment he lands in the UAE. In a most likely scenario, he is going to start either from first or second on the grid. It is hard to imagine two faster cars than Max when the qualifications get wrapped up. If he manages to get a head start early on, everything will be in his hands, and from the current Formula 1 driver roster, he is the best race manager out there.
Of course, we need to make a distinction between the winner of the race in Abu Dhabi and the driver who is going to win the title. If Max Verstappen manages to win the race, he is going to be the champion in all scenarios that do not have Norris on the podium.
Right now, Max is the pick for both. Is he the safest pick? Well, no! It is hard to put him surely ahead considering the year Lando Norris has had. Yes, the British diver has had a poor end to the year, probably because he started to believe that the title was his, a tad too early.
Now that he is aware that he has everything to fight for, we could see one of his best performances on the year. Because of that, his odds of winning the race in UAE, set at 3.25 are not to be taken lightly.
Who could surprise us?
All eyes will be set on McLaren vs. Red Bull. The duel in question will allow teams such as Mercedes to shine. Kimi Antonelli has been setting the stage for a great Formula 1 future for himself throughout the year, driving better and better as the season moved on.
As far as Mercedes goes, Kimi has been the better driver of the two in the final stages of the season, finishing ahead of his teammate three times in the last four races. This is not a dig at George Russell at all, but a compliment on the work both drivers and the entire Mercedes team have been doing the entire year.
With Mercedes getting more competitive during the season, great things are expected from them in the coming season. As far as the last race of the 2025 season goes, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see one of their lads on the podium in Abu Dhabi.
In a case of such a scenario, the chances are that the title is in Max Verstappen’s hands. With everything above said, the only way to know how things are going to play out is to stay out and watch the race over the weekend.
