Red Bull's Max Verstappen will take on the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for th 2025 F1 Drivers' World Championship at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 2025 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship just took another dramatic turn.
Max Verstappen is taking the title fight all the way to the season finale in Abu Dhabi following his crucial victory at the Qatar Grand Prix on Monday (PH time).
The Red Bull star made a big overtake on lap 1 against championship leader Lando Norris, then cashed in on the strategy of pitting under the Safety Car on lap 7.
The reigning four-time world champion is now P2 on the standings with 396 points, overtaking McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who is P3 with 392 points.
Norris still leads with 408 points after finishing P4 in Qatar.
In Abu Dhabi, Verstappen will be world champion if he wins the Grand Prix and Norris finishes P4 or lower.
For Norris, he takes his first world title as long as he gets on the podium.
Piastri, who somehow dropped a place in the standings despite winning the Sprint and finishing P2 in the Grand Prix, needs to be in the top-2 in Abu Dhabi to have a fighting chance at the title.
The 2025 season will be the first time the Drivers’ world title will be decided in Abu Dhabi since 2021, when Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton for his first world championship.