Lando Norris formally receives 2025 F1 world champion trophy at FIA gala

Lando Norris is now the official custodian of the Formula 1 world championship trophy, having been formally presented with the sterling silver prize at the FIA Prize Giving Gala in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The ceremony marks the formal conclusion of the 2025 season, with McLaren also receiving the constructors' championship trophy and Oscar Piastri collecting his trophy for third place in the drivers' standings. Runner-up Max Verstappen was absent from the event due to illness.

Why it matters:

The FIA gala is the traditional, formal endpoint of the Formula 1 season where champions are officially crowned. For Norris, receiving the physical trophy engraved with his signature solidifies his historic achievement as the 35th different world champion in the sport's 76-season history and marks the culmination of McLaren's dominant 2025 campaign.

The details:

• The trophy presented to Norris is the official FIA Drivers' World Championship trophy, first commissioned in 1995. It features the engraved signatures of all 34 previous titleholders, with Norris's signature added ahead of the ceremony.
• Norris will hold the trophy for the next year until it is returned to the FIA ahead of the 2026 finale, where the name of the next champion will be engraved.
• McLaren collected its 10th constructors' championship trophy, a record for the team and its first since 1998, officially recognizing its supremacy over the season.
• Max Verstappen's absence, attributed to illness, meant the podium ceremony featured only the newly crowned champion and his teammate.

The big picture:

The gala closes the book on a transformative 2025 season where McLaren and Lando Norris ended years of Red Bull and Verstappen's dominance. The physical handover of the trophies provides a symbolic full stop, allowing the teams and drivers to fully shift their focus to the winter development period and the challenges of the 2026 season. Norris's name now permanently resides among the legends of the sport on its most coveted prize.