Lando Norris has been crowned the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, while ex-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez posted a tongue-in-cheek message on social media about former teammate Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez has taken to social media with a cheeky post following Max Verstappen’s missed opportunity at the 2025 F1 world title. Despite a third-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who was crowned the 2025 F1 world champion for the first time in his career.
26-year-old Norris had a 12-point lead over Verstappen going into the season finale and needed at least a third-place finish to secure the title. After Verstappen qualified on pole and made a strong start to the race, it looked like he might push Norris and Oscar Piastri, who was 16 points behind his McLaren teammate, back into the pack.
However, Verstappen chose not to do this, allowing Norris and Piastri a relitavely unobstructed race, running ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. There was a tense moment involving Norris as he closed in on Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda after making his first pit stop.
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But Norris handled Tsunoda with ease and passed him using DRS. The Japanese driver could have eased off in the final sector to cost Norris valuable time with Leclerc hot on his heels, but he decided against it.
Red Bull might have been missing Sergio Perez in that moment, with the 35-year-old Mexican having been axed from the Austrian outfit at the conclusion of last season. Liam Lawson took his place, bringing to an end a four-year partnership between Perez and Red Bull.
While watching the race, Perez, who is poised to make his F1 comeback in 2026 with newcomers Cadillac, delivered a witty reaction to a post by ‘F1 Troll’ on X.
The account shared a meme featuring Marvel baddie Thanos with Perez’s face superimposed onto it, quoting his famous line: “Perhaps I treated you too harshly.” Perez chose to quote tweet the post, simply writing: “Perhaps”, accompanied by a laughing face emoji.
The former McLaren driver was pivotal in Verstappen’s championship triumph in 2021. As Verstappen fought Lewis Hamilton for the world title, Perez, who had not yet completed his final pit stop, held up Hamilton and kept the seven-time champion at bay.
Perez’s blocking manoeuvres cost Hamilton valuable time, proving decisive in allowing Verstappen to gain the upper hand and maintain his lead following the contentious late Safety Car intervention. Verstappen ultimately prevailed in Abu Dhabi, though it wasn’t sufficient to overtake Norris, who claimed the world championship with a two-point margin at the summit.
Speaking after the race, Verstappen looked back on a turbulent campaign. “Massive rollercoaster for us,” he said.
“Of course, the first half had some nice moments, but mainly tough moments – some really tough races and feelings.
“But I’m also very proud of how we never gave up. And, again, that’s also a lesson for the future, for everyone, that even when it looks like you’re out of it, you never give up. You keep working hard to try and understand your issues, and then you never know what can happen.”
Heaping praise on Norris, Verstappen delivered a gracious tribute to the newly-crowned world champion. “Winning your first title is something that I think we all dreamt of when you get into the sport,” he continued.
“You work for that since you’re a little kid. It’s what you dream of.
“So, when you win your first title, this is very emotional. And, yeah, I hope for Lando as well. You know, I saw a lot of his family is here, so it’s important to enjoy this a lot as well tonight.
“Also, with his team. I think, again, that’s another story where it showed that even when you have tough years, when you keep working hard, you keep adding good people to the team, you can overcome all of those things, and you can become very successful again. And, yeah, they had an incredible season together, so it’s important that they enjoy it.”
