The final round of the 2025 F1 season takes place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, and after a vital victory in Qatar Max Verstappen could still retain the drivers’ title.

The Dutchman has four consecutive championships to his name and had been ruled out by many earlier on in the season thanks to McLaren’s dominant form.

But with just one race to go, Verstappen has now claimed P2 in the championship and is only 12 points away from standings leader Lando Norris.

A strategy gamble paid off for Verstappen and Red Bull at the Qatar GP when the Dutchman pitted under an early safety car.

McLaren made the questionable decision to leave both Norris and Oscar Piastri out, and that decision could now prove costly to their title fight.

At one point in 2025 Verstappen was 104 points behind the championship leader, but the fight is now well and truly back on for Red Bull’s star driver.

So, how can he take a stunning fifth title in Abu Dhabi at this year’s season finale?

How Verstappen can win drivers’ title in Abu Dhabi

Following the Qatar GP, Norris leads the championship with 408 points, Verstappen follows 12 points behind on 396 and Piastri sits down in third with 392 points, meaning he is 16 points behind his McLaren team-mate.

But Verstappen only needs to outscore Norris by a minimum of 13 points in Abu Dhabi to take the title.

The easiest way to do this would be for Verstappen to win the Abu Dhabi GP and for Norris to finish fourth or lower.

Alternatively, the Red Bull star can still claim the championship if:

~ He finishes the race P2, Norris is P8 or lower and Piastri is P3 or lower.

~ He finishes the race P3, Norris is P9 or lower and Piastri is P2 or lower.

~ He finishes on the podium and Norris fails to score a point.

In short, the title is Norris’ to lose because even if Verstappen was to finish down in fourth in a race where Norris failed to pick up a single point, the Brit would still win on countback given that he has more P2 positions across the 2025 season.

Lando Norris only needs to finish third to win the championship, while Oscar Piastri’s best hope is to win with Norris lower than P5.

QATAR GP RESULTS: Max Verstappen takes big stride to title after McLaren outsmarted in Qatar

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Alpine F1 team have announced they will be launching their 2026 livery just days before next year’s first pre-season testing event.

A whole host of changes will be introduced to the sport next season, including the introduction of new regulations and the return of individual team livery launches.

In 2025, F1 opted for a rather radical approach to livery reveals in an attempt to celebrate 75 years of the championship and make a public spectacle out of what would usually be an online reveal or invite-only event.

F1 75 Live gave fans the chance to see all the new F1 liveries revealed in the same room for one night only at an event at London’s O2 arena, featuring a whole host of musical guests and hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall.

But for 2026, the sport has returned to more traditional livery reveals, with Alpine confirming that theirs will take place on January 23 in Barcelona, three days before F1 pre-season testing begins at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from January 26 until January 30.

Alpine tease 2026 F1 car reveal

An announcement on Alpine’s social media accounts read: “We’ve got something to show you… 23.01.26,” along with a ‘save the date’ graphic which was attached to a concealed F1 car.

This reveal may not have given much away, but much like this year’s F1 75 Live event, it is unlikely that Alpine will show their actual 2026 challenger and will merely use the Barcelona date in January to show off their car livery and sponsors.

2026 presents a much-needed fresh start for the Enstone-based outfit who, with just one round left in this year’s campaign, sit right at the bottom of the constructors’ standings.

They have only managed to pick up 22 points this year, all of which have been earned by Pierre Gasly, with new driver Franco Colapinto still point-less, though their disastrous year could be explained by the fact that they claim to have switched almost all their efforts to becoming competitive for 2026.

Next season will see the competitive order reset and Alpine may be positioned well to take advantage of this as they bring an end to their in-house engine project and switch to Mercedes power units and gearboxes instead.

The first of F1’s pre-season tests will be conducted privately next year in Barcelona before a second test will be held at the Bahrain International Circuit between February 11 and February 13.

Bahrain will then also host a third test from February 18 until February 20, before the 2026 championship begins with the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8.

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Lewis Hamilton has named himself the most stylish driver in F1 history, and said that nobody’s ever come close to challenging him for the title.

It’s been a rough year on the track for the seven-time world champion, but he’s still undefeated sartorially – and he knows it.

Hamilton’s efforts in the fashion world haven’t gone unnoticed, launching a clothing like with Tommy Hilfiger back in 2018 and stepping up his interest in that sphere ever since – even co-chairing the Met Gala this year, with the theme of ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’.

A number of other drivers on the grid largely wear garments related to their teams or business interests (try and find a picture of Max Verstappen not wearing AlphaTauri gear in 2025, seriously), or prefer the smart-casual uniform of the obscenely rich, leaving Hamilton without much competition in the serious style stakes.

Hamilton: Two drivers do a good job with their style

Hamilton did namecheck a couple of other drivers when talking to Complex recently, admitting that departing Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda ‘does a good job’, and calling Ferrari reserve driver Zhou Guanyu ‘quite stylish’.

Asked straight out if he was the ‘drippiest driver in F1 history’, he answered: “Uh, for sure. It’s not like it’s even close, that one. None of them even tried in the past. So, you know, so it’s a little bit of a home run in that sense. But the drivers are now starting to…trying to step their game up, yeah.

He continued: “I mean, I don’t pay a huge amount of attention. I would say Yuki does a good job. And there’s one more, Zhou. Zhou is quite stylish as well. Yeah, I would say that’s it.”

Fans of Hamilton’s paddock fits can expect to see them for some time to come – with the 40-year-old signed with Ferrari for another two seasons at least.

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