New Delhi: We have reached the final race week of the F1 2025 season at the Abu Dhabi venue, and this year, yet again, has shown us big dramas. From the Ferrari move for Lewis Hamilton not working, to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner being shown the door after 20 years at the helm. However, the drama on track has been far more engaging and in a while, this has been the closest three drivers have a stake for the Championship title.
It comes down to this race, then that Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will fight the championship leader, Lando Norris. Norris himself was almost written off after his Dutch GP DNF, and one would have given his teammate Piastri the title back then. Mathematically, it was possible for Norris to wi,n and he has really come a long way to be in the perfect spot to take home the title.
After a good European leg, the McLaren duo have slipped in the race weeks since and while everyone expected them to seal the deal by the time the final weeks approached, the tale has been quite different. Verstappen, for his part, was consistent throughout the season and found his pace right at the moment to have a good stake at his fifth consecutive Driver’s championship title.
Driver’s Standings
DRIVER STANDINGS (after 23/24 rounds)
It’s going to be a grandstand finish to the season 🍿#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/WzJSpwRnK7
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 30, 2025
With one more team adding next season, for the last time, 20 drivers will line up at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. However, it is just the top three that matter now. McLaren have already won the Constructor’s championship, and so it is just the two drivers who are going to put their best stake on the title.
For Norris, the terms are simple for Sunday; he just needs to finish on the podium to lift his maiden title. It doesn’t matter where his rivals finish, and that is going to be his best bet. Even if he doesn’t finish on the podium, he needs to finish ahead of Verstappen and Piastri. In any other situation, Norris needs to finish within 12 points of Verstappen and 16 points of Piastri.
If the two leading drivers are on level after the final race, then the countback would come into action. In this case, race wins are counted where all three are level with seven wins. However, the next draw will be for second-place finishes, where Norris leads by a big margin
For Verstappen, he needs to win the race, and Norris needs to finish fourth or below. If he doesn’t win, then he has to score at least 13 points more than Norris or ensure that Norris doesn’t outscore him by five points. For Piastri, if he wins the race, he still needs Norris to finish sixth or below.
In case Piastri finishes second, he needs Norris to finish 10th or below, while he needs Verstappen to finish fourth or below in order to win the title. In all other situations, he has to finish 17 points ahead of Norris and five points ahead of Verstappen. So, this is the fiercest battle we are ever going to see this season. The last time something similar had happened was when the rivalry was intense between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen in 2021, and we got the most dramatic finishes ever.
When and Where to Watch the F1 Abu Dhabi GP?
Fans can watch all Abu Dhabi GP racing sessions on the Fancode and F1 TV apps. The qualifying on Saturday is scheduled for 7:30 PM IST. The main race is scheduled at 6:30 PM IST on Sunday, December 7th.