Champion Norris leads the way, as F1 gets set to power into a new era

Lando Norris stepped up as a first-time world champion in 2025 to end Max Verstappen's four-year reign and lead Formula One into a new era.

Whether the McLaren driver can do it again remains the big question.

The title did not come easy to the 26-year-old as he made his dream come true in a roller-coaster season of highs and lows, the wins also accompanied by mistakes and misfortune in a thrilling three-way battle.

Even as the Briton celebrated beating Red Bull's Verstappen by two points, and Australian teammate Oscar Piastri by 13, Norris recognized it could be a one-off.

Formula One, set to expand to 11 teams with the arrival of Cadillac, is facing a major reset next year with a new generation of engines and the sport's biggest technical upheaval in decades.

The usual suspects are likely to stay competitive, but nobody really knows who will be ahead in 2026.

Title double

"It could be my only opportunity in my life that I get to do such a thing," Norris said of putting the champion's No 1 on his car next season.

"I have a lot of faith in my team and we've achieved a lot in the last few years together. And I'm confident we will achieve a lot more together. But Formula One is unpredictable. You never know how much things can change. You never know what can happen."

McLaren has won two constructors' crowns on the trot and, this year, sealed the team and driver's title double for the first time since 1998.

While Norris and Piastri were the only ones to lead the standings, and the Briton was a deserving champion, Verstappen provided some of the standout moments with one of the greatest comebacks in the sport's 75-year history.

"Championships are important, but they do not tell the whole story. Sometimes the best driver does not win the title," observed Damon Hill, who dethroned Ferrari great Michael Schumacher to take the 1996 crown.

Verstappen was, at times, in a league of his own against a backdrop of upheaval at Red Bull, which fired team principal Christian Horner in July and said farewell to consultant Helmut Marko in December.

The Dutch driver went from 104 points behind Piastri at the end of August to 11 ahead at the final flag, and said it was probably the best he had driven in Formula One — quite a statement from someone who won a record 19 of 22 races in 2023.

Verstappen wins more

Norris did not win the most races, nor did he lead the championship longest, with Verstappen taking eight wins — including the last three of the campaign — to the McLaren drivers' seven apiece.

Piastri topped the leaderboard from April to the end of October.

The Australian will be even more determined in 2026, after a massive learning year that, at one point, looked sure to crown him Australia's first champion in 45 years.

Mercedes, which powers McLaren, and is the factory team which finished runner-up with two wins from George Russell, could also provide far stiffer opposition.

The last time the sport had a major engine change, in 2014, Mercedes went on a dominant run of eight successive constructors' titles.

Winless Ferrari, without a title since 2008, will be under pressure to deliver with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton absent from the podium in a disappointing first year at Maranello.

Next year also sees the first Adrian Newey-designed Aston Martin, Verstappen racing a Red Bull powered by the energy drink company's own engine in partnership with Ford, while Audi replaces Sauber.

Frenchman Isack Hadjar joins Verstappen at Red Bull after an excellent rookie season at Racing Bulls, with a first podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.

How the 21-year-old matches up, as Verstappen's fourth teammate since the end of 2024, will be another fascinating storyline when the season revs back up in Australia on March 8.

Reuters