Paris, France (AFP) — Lando Norris had been dreaming of winning the world championship since he was five and finally fulfilled that dream 21 years later. 

Scrappy at times during the season when many questioned his inner strength, the McLaren driver bounced back to win seven races, muscle past his teammate Oscar Piastri and do enough to hold off a rampaging Max Verstappen. 

He was quick and, in the end, he was gutsy. And a champion. 

For McLaren, this was their 13th driver’s title and their first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. 

They also galloped to the constructors’ title for the second year running.

Of the six rookies who started the 2025 season, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli had the most eye-catching year, his sprint pole in Miami making him the youngest ever pole-sitter in F1 history at just 18 years and 251 days old.

Isack Hadjar, who only turned 21 in September, scored 10 top-10 finishes, including his first podium when third in the Netherlands, and earned himself promotion from Red Bull’s junior team Racing Bulls to a seat alongside Verstappen in the senior team.  

Even though he didn’t win a fifth successive title, Verstappen enhanced his reputation with a staggering one-man battle against the McLarens of Piastri and Norris. 

With an inferior car, the Dutchman scrapped and fought and, on occasions, simply outsmarted his rivals. He wrote himself out of the title race when he trailed by over 100 points and yet he nearly snuck it in Abu Dhabi and ended the season with eight wins, more than either of his rivals.

He also became a father in May, which may be his greatest triumph in 2025.

Odd one this, but the sport itself has had a boom year, helped by the Netflix reality series “Drive to Survive” and the release in June of the Brad Pitt vehicle “F1 The Movie.” 

The movie, which has Lewis Hamilton as a co-producer, roared onto screens and has already taken over $600 million at the box office, making it the biggest-grossing movie of Pitt’s stellar career. 

Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes and move to Ferrari was met with shock. In the end, although it promised much, it delivered little. 

The seven-time world champion finished sixth in the title race but for the first time in his career failed to make the podium. His sprint win in China was no consolation. 

Hamilton was seldom happy with his car and was at one point told to “talk less, drive more” by Ferrari F1 chairman John Elkann. 

The Scuderia finished fourth in the standings without a single win or second place. 

While Verstappen has been outstanding, the role of his number two at Red Bull has become an increasingly uncomfortable seat.