Lando Norris

'Cocky' Lando Norris given dressing down

Lando Norris is going for the title this weekend

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 5 December 2025 18:52

Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has said that British racer Lando Norris is 'cocky', and that Max Verstappen will win the title this year.

Norris, four-time champion Verstappen, and McLaren racer Oscar Piastri all head into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix able to win the 2025 drivers' championship, the first time we've had a title showdown since 2021.

The Brit leads Verstappen by 12 points, with his team-mate Oscar Piastri a further four points back, as all three drivers head into the race level on seven grand prix wins for the season.

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Norris and Piastri are chasing a maiden title, while Verstappen could well equal an all-time F1 record by claiming a fifth consecutive world title.

And Ecclestone believes that he is going to seal that fifth title, suggesting that Verstappen is the best F1 driver ever. The Brit controlled the commercial rights of F1 from 1987 until 2017, when Liberty Media took over the rights to the sport.

"I still believe Max will do it," Ecclestone told the Daily Mail ahead of the Abu Dhabi weekend. "He deserves it. I used to say Alain Prost was the best driver of all time, doing it on his own without a radio to the pit wall telling him what to do, but I think Max is the best I have known. He stands alone.

"Lando is fine, a really good driver, but he is over-confident, too cocky, believing his own publicity, but he gets nervous at crunch moments and can’t quite deliver the way Max can when the pressure is on.

"I said from the start of the season that Max would do it in the end, and I still believe that is the case."

Who will win the title?

Norris' points advantage makes him the favourite heading into the final round, but Piastri's excellent performance throughout the Qatar GP weekend will give him hope that he has discovered his form just at the right time.

Four-time champion Verstappen, however, will now be full of confidence heading into Sunday's title decider, having won the last two grands prix.

The Dutchman has been in this position before, trying to claim a championship against the odds up against a British star at the Yas Marina Circuit, with Verstappen claiming his first title on the last lap of the 2021 season at the expense of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Abu Dhabi showdown on Sunday will be the first time since that day that we have headed into the final race not knowing who will claim title success.

It's also the first time since the 2010 edition of the race that more than two drivers can still win the title on the final day of the season.

F1 HEADLINES: McLaren pull out of Abu Dhabi media duties as driver slams ‘unacceptable’ team orders

McLaren Lando Norris Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Bernie Ecclestone