Verstappen wins Abu Dhabi finale as Norris entered race leading standings

Max Verstappen won the season finale at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit. Going into the final race — worth 25 points for a win — Lando Norris led the standings on 408 points, Verstappen had 396 and Oscar Piastri 392; a podium would have been enough for Norris to seal the championship, the source said.

Qualifying went Verstappen’s way, with Norris a few hundredths of a second faster than Piastri for second and third. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the Mercedes of George Russell had the potential to complicate matters by inserting themselves between the three title contenders but did not, the account said.

On race day Verstappen made a solid start, defended his position and then drove to the checkered flag. Piastri passed Norris on lap 1 after seeing a chance; Norris initially let him through and briefly allowed Leclerc to close to within a second before showing more speed. An early pit stop forced Norris to overtake on track, which the article described as decisive compared with his earlier-season form. The piece also noted that Verstappen had eight wins this year and that Yuki Tsunoda received a five-second penalty for swerving while trying to hold up Norris.

The provided account does not state the final championship outcome or whether Norris’s required podium was achieved; those details are not given in the source material.

Key Topics

Sports, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Yas Marina, Yuki Tsunoda