The greatest F1 World Championship celebrations in recent history

It takes absolutely everything within a Formula 1 driver to get over the line at the end of a gruelling season to win a World Championship. When they finally achieve their goal, the release of emotion is immense. Sometimes it’s tears, sometimes it’s a guttural scream, but it’s always a raw and authentic reaction to dreams coming true. Lando Norris became the latest to experience a championship-winning triumph, clinching his first title thanks to a podium in the season finale at Abu Dhabi.

We’ve had plenty of iconic moments over the years, with even more iconic celebrations to match. With Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and many more to come, let’s have a look at some of the best from F1 history.

2025 Lando Norris – Abu Dhabi

Going into the final race in 2025, there were three drivers in contention for the Drivers’ Championship – the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Norris, along with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Dutchman almost pulled off a stunning comeback from over 100 points behind, but it was the Brit who took the title by a mere two points.

When Norris crossed the line, the magnitude of his achievement hit him hard. The 26-year-old fought through cries of laughter and tears to thank his team and family on the radio, before composing himself to give the crowd some donuts.

Hugs were shared with his competitors, his mum and dad, his brother and sisters, and his partner, before the customary champagne drenching on the podium. Celebrations went long into the night, including a rousing rendition of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline by our new champion.

2013 Sebastian Vettel – India

The final of Vettel’s historic four consecutive World Championships, 2013 was some of the German’s finest work. He ended the season with nine wins in a row, wrapping up the title with three races to spare. Vettel and Red Bull were an unstoppable duo, winning 13 out of 19 races that year – the fifth-best win-to-race ratio of all time.

After storming to a 30-second victory, Vettel was feeling mischievous, ignoring direct instructions from his race engineer to go to the pit lane. Instead, he drove to the grid and performed some expert donuts for the crowd. Then, he produced one of the most legendary photos in F1 history, climbing out of the cockpit and bowing down to his RB9. The ultimate way to pay homage to one of the greatest cars ever designed.

2020 Lewis Hamilton – Turkey

While Hamilton’s 2020 season was characterised by dominance in the technological marvel that was the W11 Mercedes, the Brit reminded everyone in Turkey that when tricky conditions are at play, there’s no-one quite like Lewis Hamilton.

He won 11 out of 17 Grands Prix that year, only finishing off the podium three times in the Covid-affected season. The combination of Hamilton’s absurd pace and the car’s innovative dual-axis steering and aero concepts was unstoppable.

However, Turkey tested all the defending champion’s skills; thanks to a fresh surfacing and rain, the track was an ice rink. Hamilton struggled to P7 in Qualifying but used all his experience to decide his own strategy and master the conditions, driving so long on intermediate tyres that they resembled slicks after the race. He won by a staggering 30 seconds, confirming his seventh Drivers’ Championship and a fourth in a row.

After crossing the line, Hamilton remarked: “That's for all the kids out there who dream the impossible. You can do it too man! I believe in you guys!” An inspiring message from a driver who worked so hard to break barriers and achieve his goals. Standing on his car, having won what is currently his last title, an emotional Hamilton raised his arms in the air, producing one of the most recognisable F1 photos in modern times.

2021 Max Verstappen – Abu Dhabi

One of the great F1 seasons deserved one of the great F1 celebrations, and that’s exactly what we got in the title decider at Yas Marina in 2021. Red Bull’s Verstappen and Mercedes’ Hamilton had been going blow for blow all year long, culminating in an Abu Dhabi showdown with both drivers tied on 369.5 points.

The Mercedes driver had taken the lead from the pole-sitting Dutchman early on, and looked in control until a late Safety Car with five laps to go.

Red Bull gambled with a pit stop, and following a controversial Safety Car procedure, Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap of the season to win the first of his World Championships.

There was absolute pandemonium in the Red Bull garage, with Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase screaming the famous line “Oh my lord Max,” on team radio, which was quickly drowned out by Verstappen roaring at the other end of the line. Having spent some time lifted on the shoulders of his team, Verstappen walked onto the podium with the Dutch flag as he became the first Drivers’ Champion from the Netherlands. An unforgettable race, and unforgettable celebration.

2000 Michael Schumacher – Malaysia and Japan

The turn of the century was a game-changing year for both Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari team. Although the German driver had already clinched his first and second World Championship half a decade earlier with Benetton, it was 2000 that sparked the beginning of a world-beating partnership where driver and team went on to win an incredible five championships in a row together.

The first iconic championship-winning celebration that year came in Suzuka for the penultimate race of the championship, when Schumacher secured his third World Drivers’ Championship title, and ending Ferrari’s 21-year Drivers’ title drought in the process.

After four seasons of frustration and heartache, the elation was almost too much to bear for Schumacher, who slammed on the steering wheel so hard it broke! Shouts of ‘We did it!’ down the radio, and a shoutout to his wife Corrina – the in-lap was incredibly wholesome, whilst his team were leaping around the garage hugging one another with jubilation and relief.

Schumacher leapt up onto the top step of the podium with such vigour that he almost slipped right off it, but in a moment that certainly brought a tear to every Ferrari fan’s eye, Team Principal Jean Todt joined Schumacher on the podium and lifted him into the air. It wasn’t long until the celebrations took a rogue turn, with Schumacher driving a forklift through the paddock – and leaving Japan with a hangover that took a few days to recover from...

The celebrations continued after the season finale in Malaysia as the team secured the Constructors’ title for the second year in a row. Post-race, Schumacher donned an eye-catching red wig, which we can only imagine might have been some sort of bet with his team!

2010 Sebastian Vettel – Abu Dhabi

In one of the greatest season finale comebacks, a young Vettel came back from a 15-point deficit to win the 2010 Drivers’ Championship with an epic victory in Abu Dhabi, and in doing so became the youngest World Champion ever.

Aside from the race, one of the most memorable moments came from his team radio after taking the chequered flag. After winning the race, Vettel had done all that he could – all he and the Red Bull team had left to do was wait. Between the young German driver and the title was two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso.

After it was confirmed that his title rival had finished down in seventh, so came the infamous radio message from his engineer, “I need to wait. But it’s looking good! You just wait sunshine, you just wait...” And sure enough, the message he’d been waiting for came, “Du bist Weltmeister!”

Then came the wave of emotion, and the tears on team radio that lasted until way after the podium ceremony. It was a childhood dream come true as he became just the second-ever World Champion from Germany, and Vettel couldn’t quite believe it.

2005 Fernando Alonso – Brazil

A fresh-faced 24-year-old Alonso cemented himself as one of the best drivers of his generation in 2005, claiming his first World Championship for Renault at Interlagos. The Spaniard’s unique driving style and fearless mentality was unbeatable that year, and he went into the Brazilian Grand Prix needing a podium to secure the crown with two races still to go.

Despite the rapid McLaren duo of Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen finishing in first and second, Alonso coasted home in third, sparking wild celebrations in the paddock as Renault won their first Drivers’ Championship as a constructor. Alonso couldn’t contain his passion, and as he stood on his R25 in the pit lane, he released a guttural scream, before launching himself into his team. He achieved his dream, and boy was he going to celebrate.

2009 Jenson Button – Brazil

The recently retired Button enjoyed his best season with the fledging Brawn GP team, born from the ashes of Honda from the year before. The team quickly realised they had nailed the car for the 2009 regulations, as they were a second quicker than the field in pre-season testing, thanks to their double diffuser. Winning six of the first seven races gave the Brit a big enough lead as the rest of the grid closed the gap in performance.

However, Button still needed a vintage performance to secure the title after a poor Qualifying left him down in P14 in Brazil. Under huge pressure, he carved his way through the field to finish fifth and win the Drivers’ Championship in Brawn’s only season. Button set the tone for an evening of partying by singing Queen’s We Are the Champions on the radio on his in-lap – and it wasn’t a bad rendition after a 71-lap race!

2016 Nico Rosberg – Abu Dhabi

Rosberg had fought hard in 2014 and 2015 to get the better of his rival and childhood friend Hamilton, but to no avail. But in 2016, the German found a new level of dedication and commitment which allowed him to finally get his hands on the Championship trophy. He raced out the blocks to start the year, winning the first four rounds, before recovering from a difficult spell to consistently finish on the rostrum. Finishing on the podium 16 times from 21 races was enough to give Rosberg the edge over the Brit, thanks to a gutsy performance at Yas Marina.

Despite Hamilton backing Rosberg into the chasing Vettel and Verstappen, Rosberg held his nerve to take the chequered flag in second. The scenes were wild from Rosberg’s side of the garage, and there was a sweet moment on the radio from his wife, Vivian Sibold, who congratulated Rosberg as he crossed the line.

Some championship donuts followed, but when he got his hands on the championship trophy at the end of season awards, Rosberg had one last shock up his sleeve. He duly announced his retirement, knowing just how much it had taken out of him to achieve his dream.

1997 Jacques Villeneuve – Spain

Villeneuve took to the speed and intensity of F1 with ease, taking pole position on debut in 1996, before narrowly missing out on the title to team mate Damon Hill. But in 1997, it was the Canadian’s turn for success. His season with Williams was littered with wins and retirements – seven and five respectively – but a disqualification in the penultimate race gave Ferrari’s Schumacher a one-point lead heading into the finale in Jerez.

The weekend couldn’t have been more dramatic as Schumacher, Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen all set the same time to the thousandth of a second in Qualifying, with Villeneuve starting first having the set the lap before the others.

Schumacher drove away at the start from the pole-sitter, but when Villeneuve attempted a move on Lap 48 for the lead, the Ferrari collided with the Williams, a move that both retired Schumacher from the race and earned him a disqualification from the Drivers’ Championship. Villeneuve limped home over the line to take the title in his sophomore season at just 26 years old.

The son of Gilles Villeneuve was held aloft by McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard on the podium, and he soaked in the moment on their shoulders in front of the Spanish crowd.