The lights at Yas Marina have dimmed, the engines have cooled, and the confetti has settled, but the tremors from the 2025 Formula 1 season finale are only just beginning to be felt. In a sport often defined by milliseconds, the history of the 2025 World Drivers’ Championship was written by the slimmest of margins: two single points.

That was the terrifyingly small gap that separated Lando Norris from Max Verstappen after a season stretched to its absolute breaking point. When Norris crossed the finish line to secure third place in Abu Dhabi, it wasn’t a roar of dominance that greeted him, but a collective exhale from the McLaren garage. He had done enough. Lando Norris is the 35th World Drivers’ Champion in Formula 1 history.

But if you look closely at the celebrations, beyond the champagne spray and the tears of joy, you’ll find a story that is far more complex and emotionally charged than a simple victory lap. This wasn’t a title won on pure domination. It was a title forged in the fires of relentless pressure, not just from the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, but from the man sitting right next to Norris in the team briefings: Oscar Piastri.

The Champion’s Unexpected Tribute

In the immediate aftermath of the biggest achievement of his life, Lando Norris did something few champions do. With the adrenaline still coursing through his veins and the world’s media hanging on his every word, he shifted the spotlight away from himself.

He didn’t speak of his own brilliance or the years of sacrifice. Instead, he turned his attention to the man he had just defeated.

“I had two other guys who were pretty freaking fast and certainly made my life tough this year,” Norris admitted to the press, his voice thick with emotion. He wasn’t offering empty platitudes. He was acknowledging a brutal reality. “Oscar, the whole way since round one, I knew he was probably going to be the toughest guy to beat.”

And then came the statement that silenced the room. It wasn’t a wish, and it wasn’t a polite encouragement. It was a prophecy delivered with absolute certainty.

“Oscar will be a World Champion.”

No “maybe.” No “if he keeps working hard.” Just “will.” Coming from the newly crowned king of the sport, those words carried a weight that transcended the typical teammate PR relations. Norris wasn’t speaking as a friend; he was speaking as a survivor who had just weathered a hurricane.

The Heartbreak of Oscar Piastri

To understand the gravity of Norris’s words, one must look at the tragedy of Oscar Piastri’s 2025 campaign. For a significant portion of the year, it looked like the trophy was destined for the Australian’s cabinet, not the Brit’s.

Piastri’s season statistics are hauntingly impressive. He matched the World Champion with seven race wins. After Norris retired from the Dutch Grand Prix, Piastri held a commanding 34-point advantage in the standings. He was calm, precise, and relentlessly consistent—controlling the narrative through the heart of the season.

But Formula 1 is a cruel mistress who never forgives hesitation. As the calendar ticked down toward the finale, the margins began to tighten in agonizing fashion. It wasn’t a dramatic crash or a singular moment of failure that undid Piastri’s title charge. It was, as analysts are calling it, a “slow bleed.”

For six consecutive Grand Prix races, Piastri finished outside the podium places. The wins stopped coming. The points trickled away. What once looked like a secure march to glory quietly eroded into a desperate scramble for survival. By the time the paddock arrived in Abu Dhabi, Piastri was sitting third overall, just 13 points behind his teammate. He was close enough to touch the dream, yet far enough away to know it was slipping through his fingers.

“It was not quite the ending I wished for,” Piastri said after the race, his face a mask of controlled disappointment. There were no excuses, no deflections—just the quiet acknowledgement of a dream deferred.

A Rivalry Built on Respect and Fear

The dynamic revealed by Norris’s comments paints a picture of a rivalry that is as intense as it is respectful. Norris confessed that Piastri wasn’t just a competitor; he was a “present danger.”

“From the opening race, it wasn’t just competition; it was genuine threat,” Norris explained. Even with a four-time world champion like Max Verstappen breathing down his neck, Norris never discounted the threat from within his own team.

“You can never count out Max, he’s Max,” Norris noted, acknowledging the Dutchman’s ferocity. But the way he spoke about Piastri placed the young Australian in rare company. Norris views Piastri not as a subordinate, but as an equal—an inevitable champion in waiting.

“I really enjoyed this season because of that,” Norris said, perhaps surprising those who assume drivers hate the stress. “Maybe not always enjoy them, but some of them.”

He was referring to the wheel-to-wheel battles, the strategic duels, and the moments where every corner carried the weight of a season. It was Piastri who forced Norris to find a new level of perfection. It was Piastri who matched his pace, win for win. It was Piastri who made this championship mean so much more because it was so incredibly hard to win.

The Future of McLaren

When a reigning champion tells the world that his teammate is a future champion, it changes the atmosphere in the garage. It signals to the rivals that McLaren doesn’t just have a Number 1 and a Number 2; they have two predators.

Norris’s declaration has set a marker for 2026. He knows that Piastri won’t fade away. The Australian didn’t lose the championship because he wasn’t fast enough; he lost it because of a slump in momentum. He has learned exactly how close he is.

“Oscar Piastri didn’t lose a championship in 2025; he learned how close he already is,” the narrative goes. And if history has taught us anything about Formula 1, it’s that drivers who get this close—and stay this calm—rarely stay denied for long.

Lando Norris has etched his name into history as the 2025 World Champion. But even in his moment of ultimate triumph, he made sure the story didn’t end with him. He pointed to the man standing in the shadows and effectively warned the world: Get ready, because he is next.

The 2025 season may be over, but the battle for the future has only just begun. And according to the man holding the trophy, the outcome is already written. Oscar Piastri is coming.