The Biggest Winners and Losers of the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Matt Hylen
7 hours ago
5 min read

Photo Credit to Bryn Lennon - Formula 1 via Getty Images

That's it, the 2025 Formula One season is officially in the books, and what a season it was! With a new champion crowned, it marks the end of what will go down as one of the most unexpected and unpredictable seasons we have had in the sport. Drivers and teams alike fought until the very end, with many exceeding expectations. All eyes are now pointed toward 2026, but before we close out 2025, let's analyze some winners and losers of the weekend.

Before we get into my winners and losers, here are a couple of reminders and a final look at both standings:

Formula One has two main championship competitions. The first of the two Championships is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition based on the drivers' individual performance. On a non-Sprint style weekend, the drivers who finish in the top 10 in each race will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship.

The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (e.g., Lando Norris has scored 423 points and Oscar Piastri has scored 410 points, giving the McLaren team 833 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.

Note, 21 drivers will be listed within the Drivers' Championship Standings, as Franco Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine.

Now, here is a look at the standings for both Championships:

Drivers' Championship Standings:

Lando Norris 423 points
Max Verstappen 421 points
Oscar Piastri 410 points
George Russell 319 points
Charles Leclerc 242 points
Lewis Hamilton 156 points
Andrea Kimi Antonelli 150 points
Alexander Albon 73 points
Carlos Sainz 64 points
Fernando Alonso 56 points
Nico Hülkenberg 51 points
Isack Hadjar 51 points
Oliver Bearman 41 points
Liam Lawson 38 points
Esteban Ocon 38 points
Lance Stroll 33 points
Yuki Tsunoda 33 points
Pierre Gasly 22 points
Gabriel Bortoleto 19 points
Franco Colapinto 0 points
Jack Doohan 0 points

Constructors' Championship Standings:

McLaren 833 points
Mercedes 469 points
Red Bull 451 points
Ferrari 398 points
Williams 137 points
VCARB 92 points
Aston Martin 89 points
Haas 79 points
Kick Sauber 70 points
Alpine 22 points

Standings were found at F1.com.

Winner: Lando Norris

Let's start with the new World Champion, shall we?

In my eyes, no one deserves this title more than Lando Norris. He fought through adversity and pressure all season long and came out the other end as a champion. He showed the true grit and determination it takes to win a title, but never faltered from or changed who he was. Lando won this championship his way. He never bent his morals or driving style to get ahead, but rather beat the rest on pure skill, pace, self-belief, and mental toughness. He did exactly what he needed to do in Abu Dhabi, nothing more, nothing less.

On top of this, though the race itself was not very exciting, it can be argued that Norris faced the most amount of pressure. From being passed by Oscar Piastri to fending off Charles Leclerc at the start of the race, Norris never wavered and kept his cool the entire race weekend. An absolutely picture-perfect end to what was Lando Norris' legacy-defining season.

Loser: VCARB

Photo Credit to Clive Mason/Getty Images

VCARB were shockingly slow this weekend. Though Hadjar did show some pace in qualifying by placing in P9, Lawson was not as fortunate with a P13. When it came to the race, however, neither were very fortunate, as both drivers were the only non-Alpine drivers to get lapped. Hadjar fell down the field at a rapid rate, while Lawson could not get any sort of pace going all weekend long. An overall horrific end to what was a positive season for VCARB.

Winner: Max Verstappen

Photo Credit to Red Bull Media Pool via Getty Images

Yes, he missed out on his 5th straight championship by two points, but this weekend was a win for Max Verstappen. Putting his car on pole and winning the race by a significant margin, again, is extremely impressive in a car that has no business being there. Though hindsight proves Max could have won this championship if you look back at races like Spain and Austria, Max Verstappen did everything he could down the stretch. Verstappen and Red Bull have so much to be proud of this year, with this race putting the icing on the cake.

Loser: Yuki Tsunoda

Photo Credit to PlanetF1 via planetf1.com

Yuki Tsunoda may have had just about the worst season a driver could have had, with most of it being out of his control. That 2nd Red Bull seat is absolutely horrific for anyone who drives it, with Tsunoda losing his F1 seat as a result. He is far more talented than what he is managing to do this year, and I truly believe he will get another chance in F1 someday.

With that being said, his performance this weekend was on him. He looked pretty quick in qualifying; however, the race was a different story. Red Bull's plan going into the race was to put Yuki on hard tires so that he could defend against Lando Norris once Norris made his pit stop.

This happened exactly like Red Bull hoped it would, but Yuki put together just about the worst defense he could have produced. This not only resulted in Norris getting past him with ease but also gave him a 5-second penalty. He then went ahead and finished 14th on the road in the Grand Prix. Not a great weekend for Tsunoda.

Winner: Aston Martin

Aston Martin finished the season extremely strong, making them one of my biggest winners of the weekend. Alonso looked fantastic in qualifying with a P6 finish, while both drivers finished the Grand Prix in the points. This is exactly the sort of momentum Aston Martin was looking for heading into what should be a 2024 season with high expectations.

Loser: Williams

There were a lot of different drivers/teams I could have chosen here, such as Kimi Antonelli, Alpine, Ferrari, Gabriel Bortoleto, or Oliver Bearman, but I think Williams was unfortunately the worst of the bunch.

It was very surprising to me that Williams had such a lack of pace this weekend. Yes, their car does not suit this track extremely well, but it was not to the point where neither Sainz nor Albon could sniff the points. A P12 and P17 in qualifying and P13 and P16 in the race was not the end to the season anyone expected for Williams. Regardless, Williams have a lot of positives to build upon and will have high expectations for themselves going into 2026.