The FIA ruling that had major impact on Lando Norris title win

Lando Norris' Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could have looked entirely different had an F1 ruling from the FIA's stewards gone another way.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull did all they could to claim a fifth consecutive world drivers' title at Yas Marina, but in the end a third place finish for Norris allowed the Brit to take his first ever F1 drivers' title.

The Dutchman needed Norris to finish fourth or lower to win the title, and instead finished the 2025 season two points behind the McLaren racer.

Part of Red Bull's strategy was to utilise their second driver Yuki Tsunoda, whose job it was to back Norris up into Charles Leclerc after the first round of pit stops.

However, when Norris went to overtake on the straight, Tsunoda engaged in some pretty dangerous defending and weaved in front of the Brit, who was then pushed off track and forced to over take with all four wheels outside of track limits.

The incident resulted in two separate investigations, one for Tsunoda changing direction when defending Norris and the second, Norris leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

FIA ruling saves Norris title hopes

Tsunoda was awarded a five-second time penalty for changing direction when defending, which ultimately resulted in Norris being forced to overtake off track to avoid a collision.

No further action was taken over Norris leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage, an infringement that could result in a five-second or 10-second time penalty depending on the circumstances.

In Abu Dhabi however, the stewards believed that Norris would have overtaken without going off the track if Tsunoda had not made those moves.

They evidenced the Driving Standards Guidelines that states if a car is 'forced off” it is not considered to have exceeded track limits. Therefore, the stewards concluded that no further action would be taken.

If Norris had been awarded a time penalty, the McLaren star would have been vulnerable to Charles Leclerc, who may have leapfrogged the Brit on their second round of pit stops.

Thankfully for Norris, the stewards took into account Tsunoda's manoeuvre and the newly-crowned world champion was able to finish third.

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