Lando Norris’ F1 world championship trophy nowhere to be seen
As McLaren’s Lando Norris clinched his maiden F1 title in Abu Dhabi, he was denied the chance to celebrate with the winner’s trophy.
Lando Norris won’t be able to hold the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship trophy in his hands until later this week due to a bizarre quirk preventing the world champion from celebrating with the silverware on the day of his triumph.
Norris was crowned champion on Monday morning (AEDT), securing third place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which was enough to secure his maiden F1 drivers’ title by just two points from Max Verstappen.
Australia’s Oscar Piastri finished second in Abu Dhabi but had to settle for third in the standings, 13 points behind his McLaren teammate.
The 26-year-old Brit is McLaren’s eighth champion in history and the team’s first since a young Lewis Hamilton won back in 2008.
It was relief and jubilation for Norris, who would have wrapped up the title earlier if not for McLaren’s double disqualification in Las Vegas that meant the three-way battle for the title went down to the final race.
Norris embraced his family and shared an emotional kiss with his girlfriend Magui Corceiro after shedding a tear when he crossed the finish line and realised a childhood dream.
In his seventh year with McLaren, it had been a long road for Norris to reach the top after he made his F1 debut in 2019 when the team was battling towards the back of the grid.
But if it wasn’t for his third placed finish at the Abu Dhabi, Norris wouldn’t have had a trophy to wave around and celebrate with.
He sprayed champagne and stood on the podium, but an unusual rule means the cylindrical trophy awarded to the world drivers’ champion is not given to the winner on the day of their triumph.
Instead, F1’s governing body the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile), presents the winners of the drivers’ and constructors’ championships at a separate black tie ceremony before the end of the year.
This year’s FIA General Assembly and Prize Griving ceremony will be held in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan on Friday December 12.
The FIA Prize-Giving Ceremony traditionally concludes the motorsport season, honouring top drivers, teams, and organisers who have achieved outstanding results in FIA-sanctioned championships, including Formula 1, WRC, WEC, Formula E, and other disciplines.
It was first held in 2003 and has since become an annual event hosted in various countries around the world.
Norris will be in a tuxedo when he lifts the drivers’ championship for the first time, and there won’t be any images of him drinking out of it or holding it in his McLaren jumpsuit while still sweaty from the race.
The unusual trophy convention feels like a missed opportuniy to create some iconic moments and images that will go down in history.
As ESPN’s Nate Saunders wrote: “Given that (the trophy) it is the most prestigious and significant prize in all of motor racing, that is bizarre indeed.
“It seems a real waste, when you consider how many iconic images have been created with championship trophies.”
F1 is 75 years old but an official trophy was only introduced in 1995 — it’s made of silver, gold and has each champion’s signature engraved on the side.
The F1 constructors’ championship trophy is a similar shape with badges of the winning teams plastered over it in a nod to the sport’s history.
McLaren won the constructors’ title for the second year in a row in 2025, claiming a reported $161 million from F1’s prize pool.
Originally published as Lando Norris’ F1 world championship trophy nowhere to be seen
New champ ruthlessly steals rival’s number
