Tearful Norris takes F1 title as Verstappen wins Abu Dhabi race

McLaren's Lando Norris sobbed tears of joy and relief as he won the Formula One (F1) championship for the first time and ended Max Verstappen’s four-year reign with a nervy third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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Red Bull's Verstappen, whose eighth triumph of the campaign was one more than the new champion managed, won the season-ender with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri runner-up and 12.5 seconds behind at the checkered flag.

Norris, Britain’s 11" Formula One world champion at the age of 26 and McLaren’s eighth since 1974, took his points tally to 423, with Verstappen on 421 and Piastri third with 410.

“Thankyou guys,” he gasped over the team radio. “You have made my dreams come true.”

McLaren, who secured the constructors’ championship in October for the second year in a row, won both titles in the same season for the first time since 1998.

“T’ve not cried in a while. I didn’t think I would cry but I did,” an emotional Norris said in the post-race interview, after also shedding tears inside his helmet on the slowing down lap around the floodlit Yas Marina circuit.

“It feels amazing. I now know what Max feels like a little bit. “I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two biggest competitors the whole season. It’s been a pleasure to race against both of them. It’s been an honor, I've learned a lot from both,” he added.