F1 2025 Title Decider: How Can Norris, Verstappen or Piastri Win the Championship?

The 2025 Formula 1 season is heading towards a finale only this sport can produce.

Three drivers, one race, and a world champion to be crowned after 23 rounds. The final showdown in Abu Dhabi promises to be historic – either the first world title for one of the McLaren drivers, or Max Verstappen’s fifth consecutive crown.

How Can Lando Norris Win the Formula 1 2025 Title?

The main favourite remains Lando Norris. The British driver and current championship leader has everything in his own hands.

McLaren have been the strongest and fastest car this season, but a combination of team errors and individual mistakes cost them crucial points in the second half of the year.

That opened the door for Max Verstappen to claw his way back into contention, despite McLaren already securing the Constructors’ Championship in dominant fashion.

For Lando, the job is simple: regardless of what his team-mate Oscar Piastri (currently 3rd) or Max Verstappen do, a podium finish in Abu Dhabi guarantees him the world championship.

Norris enters the finale 12 points ahead of Verstappen, and 16 clear of Piastri.

How Can Max Verstappen Win the Formula 1 2025 Title?

After the summer, Verstappen looked completely out of the picture – especially after the difficult Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

But Christian Horner’s departure and the restructuring within Red Bull Racing seemed to give the team new energy. With the car improving, Max capitalised on McLaren’s missteps and Piastri’s dip in form to drag himself back into the fight.

However, his destiny isn’t fully in his own control. To take the championship, Max must win in Abu Dhabi (where Norris won last season), and he needs Norris to finish off the podium.

Any further permutations realistically require Norris to retire, given the 12-point gap.

For context, the first three drivers in F1 earn 25 – 18 – 15 points.

Max could, theoretically, finish 4th (12 points) if Norris fails to finish the race or finishes outside TOP 10 which is very unlikely, and Piastri doesn’t beat him to 3rd, but that scenario is, as mentioned, extremely unlikely.

Given McLaren’s pace all season, it is hard to imagine a podium without either Norris or Piastri.

But Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc or the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have shown strong pace and could influence the final outcome.

Verstappen himself has said he isn’t thinking about the title too much – but everyone knows he remains a factor as long as there is a mathematical chance.

And when Max has nothing to lose, he is often at his most dangerous. Last season’s iconic Brazil drive comes to mind, when he surged from P17 on a wet race to a sensational victory that sealed his fourth title after McLaren had threatened to snatch the momentum.

Oscar Piastri: The Biggest Loser of the Season

In many ways, Piastri has been the biggest loser of the 2025 campaign. He entered September leading the championship, 34 points ahead of Norris and a massive 104 ahead of Verstappen – more than four race wins’ worth of a gap.

Three months later, he arrives in Abu Dhabi behind both of them, needing a miracle to become world champion. A huge opportunity all but gone.

His fans will certainly feel that way.

How Can Piastri Win the Formula 1 2025 Title?

Piastri finds himself in the toughest position of the trio. He needs to beat both rivals, but realistically, he also needs Norris to retire from the race. If Piastri wins, he must also hope Verstappen finishes behind him.

The Australian admitted after the Qatar Grand Prix that he would “need a lot of things to go in my direction” in order to keep the dream alive, but rediscovering his pace last weekend at least gives him hope.

Norris won last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but if he fails to repeat that and suffers a disastrous race, Piastri would need other teams - Mercedes or perhaps Ferrari, to intervene and push Verstappen down the order.

The equation is straightforward: Piastri can only win the title if he finishes 1st or 2nd, and both Norris and Verstappen fail to finish on the podium.

With a 16-point gap in a single race, it's a monumental task. It feels as if the title slipped from his hands through poor performances in September, October and November.

A Spectacular Finale Awaits

What we are left with is a stunning finale: three drivers, all believing they can be that champion.

Will we see a brand-new world champion from McLaren?

Or another act of magic from Max Verstappen?

Remember Yas Marina 2021, when Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to claim his first crown and end the Briton’s era of dominance. Can he pull of another miracle?

Perhaps.

But Lando holds the cards. The moment of greatness is right in front of him.