How Norris won the F1 title and repelled Verstappen

This time on Yas Island, there was no incomprehensible twist of Formula 1 fate.

- KIERAN JACKSON

No late crash, no safety cars, no race manipulation. The reality was that it was always going to take something extraordinary for Lando Norris to blow this year's drivers' title and, to the delight and relief of the McLaren team on tenterhooks trackside, the closing laps progressed without incident. Their golden boy had his triumph.

As he passed the chequered flag, Norris's hands went straight to his helmet in disbelief. A season in which he started in front, squandered a lead and looked dead and buried in August, has concluded with fulfilling his wildest dreams. The 26-year-old from Somerset becomes Britain's 11th F1 world champion and McLaren's first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

But boy was it a close-run thing. In the end, Norris repelled tonight's race winner, Max Verstappen's magnificent fightback by just two points. A podium was all Norris needed yesterday night in Abu Dhabi and, despite a few nervous glances at Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in his rear-view mirror, a top-three finish never really looked in doubt. When he needed to perform some key overtakes after his first pit-stop, Norris exuded confidence and self-belief, attributes of his that have long been under the microscope. Supremely and efficiently, Norris did what he had to do.

Oscar Piastri, Norris's impressively magnanimous teammate, finished in second on the track and third overall, 13 points behind the champion. McLaren CEO Zak Brown has some tricky days to navigate the joy on one side of the garage in contrast with the deflation on the other. Piastri led by 34 points in August; he will rue an error-laden end to the season.

But for Norris, post burnouts and hugs aplenty on the start-finish straight, it was the most emotional of times.