McLaren’s furious unheard reaction to Yuki Tsunoda’s ‘classic’ defence on Lando Norris in Abu Dhabi

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Lando Norris has won the 2025 Formula 1 drivers’ championship, even if the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix didn’t go completely to plan for him and McLaren.

Max Verstappen delivered a perfect performance, claiming pole position and winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri pulled off a brilliant move on Lando Norris on the opening lap to take second place and suddenly put his McLaren teammate’s championship victory under threat.

Was this the best drive of Lando Norris’ career so far? 👏

Despite the immense pressure, Norris got the job down in Abu Dhabi to win his first ever Drivers' Championship

“Thank you guys, you made a kid’s dream come true, I love you guys. I love you mum, I love you dad.”

Lando Norris’ radio reaction

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Norris had to fend off Charles Leclerc during the opening stint, but eventually got out of his DRS before completing his first pit stop.

That put Norris in plenty of traffic, and he pulled off a brilliant double move on Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson before eventually catching up to Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.

What happened next was the most controversial moment of the race as Norris got past the 25-year-old, but not without catching the attention of the stewards.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

McLaren unimpressed with Yuki Tsunoda after Lando Norris overtake at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Tsunoda was running third in the race, having not pitted, with Verstappen and Piastri ahead of him.

He was on the hard tyres when Norris caught up to him on a fresher compound.

Red Bull informed Tsunoda over the team radio to do what he can to keep Norris behind, to which he replied, ‘I know what to do, so leave it with me’.

What happened next saw Tsunoda weaving across the track, and Norris eventually got past the Red Bull, although it appeared that all four of his wheels were off the track.

The stewards looked at the incident and eventually decided to hand Tsunoda a five-second penalty, while Norris escaped without punishment.

On the team radio, McLaren’s broadcast said: “We’re on it with Tsunoda. That was classic Red Bull s———.”

“So that is Verstappen ahead of you now. We don’t need to worry about him. We’re on our own.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Damon Hill commends the ‘fine job’ Lando Norris has done at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

It was far from the most exciting race, with the drivers at the front of the pack all on different strategies, and therefore very little action on track between the trio.

Watching the race for BBC Sport, 1996 world champion Damon Hill said: “Lando Norris is doing a fine job and is doing everything he needs to; he’s in a good, solid third place.

“We’ve got safety cars that can happen, we’ve still got loads that can happen, we just don’t know what it is yet.

“At the moment, it’s looking very good for Lando’s plans to become world champion.”

Norris would have wanted a far more comfortable cushion over Verstappen and Piastri going into the final race, and if McLaren hadn’t suffered a double disqualification in Las Vegas, then it would have been a less stressful weekend for Andrea Stella and Zak Brown.

Martin Brundle was a bit concerned by what he saw in Norris’ cockpit during qualifying, highlighting a touch of nervousness for the British driver.

He delivered when it mattered and can prepare for the 2026 season as Formula 1’s newest champion.