The right World Champion? F1 fans deliver resounding Lando Norris verdict
An emotional Lando Norris claimed his first World Championship in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The majority of our readers believe Lando Norris was the deserving F1 2025 World Champion, after his title victory on Sunday.
In a tense race at Yas Marina, Norris took the podium he needed to become champion for the first time, though race victory for Max Verstappen brought him to within just two points of the McLaren driver’s total.
Lando Norris a deserving title winner? Yes, say PF1 readers
With the season having been so up-and-down in nature, as Oscar Piastri led more rounds of the championship than any other driver and Verstappen almost pulled off the comeback of comebacks from 104 points behind, we asked you as to whether you felt that, when all is said and done, the right driver took title glory.
At time of writing, almost 5,000 of you have voted, and while results are subject to change with further voting, your responses to the deserving title winner are as follows:
Norris: 56%
Verstappen: 27%
Piastri: 17%
There is still time for you to cast your votes below, but don’t forget, to submit your comments, make sure to get involved in our comments section or email planetf1editor@planetsport.com with the subject line ‘PF1 Postbox’, and you may be featured on a future edition.
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Here is a look at what some of you had to say about the outcome of the season:
Ron Peal: The fact that Lando joins the ranks of Keke Rosberg as a WDC without the most wins in a season says it all. Lando may have the trouphy but that doesn’t mean he deserved it. I suspect Lando will also join Keke as a one off WDC winner.
Steven West: I’m gutted that Max didn’t win. He was the best driver over the course of the season by a wide margin. He is human and made some errors, but he also pulled off some incredible drives and consistently out-performed a difficult car. Lando won with a superior car, but he won and fully deserves the title…. That’s how this game works. Those that can’t accept it need to watch a different sport.
User 1522542942: A mechanical DNF in Zandvoort and a self inflicted DNF in Canada would point to the actual fightback being from Lando and not Max. Well deserved in my view, too many people with short memories on Mclaren team orders from last season slating Lando. Oscar is lethal when he is on it but so is Max and Lando. After the abuse Antonelli received after Qatar it stands to reason that there are a subset of people who have nothing better to do than heap abuse at drivers because their favourite didn’t win. Also turning off telemetry and notifications while qualifying and taking pole more often than not is pretty ballsy and indicative of next level focus and confidence. Well done to Norris. This is not just a story of winning the championship it is the story of achieving it in the face of self doubt and external pressure from the press and abhorrent abuse on social media. He lifted his mental game and got it done some people can’t even do that under less intense circumstances.
FdK: Did the right driver win – sure, he with the most points won – was it orchestrated to make “their” right driver win – that will remain the question until we get the memoirs of Piastri I guess – but a McLaren driver was the right driver, as they had the best car, and should have closed it off much sooner than the last race
They should never have allowed for Verstappen to get that close though
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McLarenFan: Yes, the right driver did win. Max may have been the best driver this season, but F1 is about the best driver/car combination. And this season, that was Lando in his McLaren. The way he managed to snap back in the second half of the season was great and championship worthy. Was hoping Max would win his 5th this year, but unfortunately the Red Bull car was not fast enough throughout the season to do so. Oscar had a great start, but his struggles in the second half of the season really cost him the title.
John Costantius: So, points are points and rules are rules. On the points and the rules (as they were set out at the beginning of the season), Lando won and he deserves to be the champion. I don’t have the slightest trouble acknowledging him as a worthy WDC.
But is he the best driver on the grid? No. That’s clearly Verstappen, who might just be the GOAT or at the very least the best since Senna. But you don’t just hand the WDC to the best driver, you hand it to the guy who won the most points under the rules.
The funny thing is, both Max and Lando know that and I think they’re both fine with it.
Jojo: Admittedly I feel similar about this championship as I did in 2012. I would have preferred if a different driver won it as they performed on such a high level. Alonso in 2012, Verstappen this year. Although it’s hard not to feel happy for Norris, and a first championship always means so much!
In the end it’s not up to fans to decide who the ‘right’ champion should be though and I’m not sure it’s even very fair to ask. Over 24 races Norris scored the most points and that’s what counts. He and his team can be proud of what they achieved together.
User 1930530316: Forget about Red Bull and McLaren because their responses would obviously be biased, and ask a simple question- is there any team on the grid that would choose Norris over Max to drive their car?
Alan: McLaren built a fast versatile car capable of performing at a number of different circuits, a McLaren driver taking home the WDC was always the most likely outcome, although Max did make them work for it. There were times where it looked like Oscar had Lando’s number and vice versa. Oscars drop off in performance from Baku to Vegas cost him the championship. Lando showed that he is better able to cope with pressure than he was at this point last year and ended the season with a string of strong performances and certainly is worthy champion.
Fonejones: Verstappen would have won without his Spanish GP meltdown. Pretty funny. He’s the most naturally gifted driver, but Norris deserved it. Between Piastri eliminating him at the COTA sprint, the Las Vegas DQ and the worst team strategy call of the season at Qatar, it was only because of his team’s gaffes that it was even as close as it was.
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