The signs were encouraging after pre-season testing, with the team and drivers boosted by the performance of the MCL39. But the first proper examination came around the streets of Melbourne, installed as the season-opener for the first time since 2019 – the race at which Lando made his F1 debut. Six years on, and it was Lando’s time to shine. Lando scored Pole during Qualifying, but the usual sunny skies deserted the city on race day, as showers swept across Albert Park.

On a chaotic afternoon in Melbourne, Lando fronted the pack and, despite a scare when a shower triggered a grassy excursion, the Briton fended off a late charge from Max Verstappen to open the season with a win and the Fastest Lap. It made it back-to-back wins for Lando for the first time in his career, having rounded out 2024 with a victory, and put him in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship for the first time.  

After his Melbourne masterclass, Lando endured a more challenging run of races, losing the lead of the Drivers’ Championship to Oscar, who hit his stride with a string of wins. But it was those tough moments early on that facilitated Lando unlocking further performance, both from himself and the car, and one outstanding example of that came around the pulsating streets of historic Monaco. Lando was in the groove throughout the weekend in the Principality and firmly hit his stride when it mattered in the Qualifying shootout.  

Lando posted a lap time of 1:09.954s, the first sub-70 second lap time around the Circuit de Monaco in history, to grab the all-important Pole position via a new track record. The unusual mandatory two pit stop rule caused some different tactics in the race, with Max Verstappen pushing back his second stop until the last possible moment. Lando, who patiently remained tucked in behind Verstappen, was consequently unleashed and set the Fastest Lap on the final lap to stamp his authority on the event and deliver a race-winning display.

Every driver wants to win their home Grand Prix, and at Silverstone, Lando had widespread support, including his own ‘Landostand’ for the first time on the outside of Stowe corner. After back-to-back podium finishes at Silverstone in 2023 and 2024, Lando set his sights on climbing onto the top step, though he was only a relatively low-key third in Qualifying. However, in wet conditions early in the race, Lando picked off Max Verstappen, before benefitting when Oscar was issued a time penalty midway through the race for a Safety Car infringement.

Lando slotted into the lead through the pit stop phase for slick tyres and reeled off the remaining laps to take a popular victory in front of a record-breaking crowd. Lando became the 13th Briton to triumph at the British Grand Prix, and it ended the team’s 17-year wait for a win around the iconic Silverstone circuit. 

Lando chipped away at his deficit in the Championship across the autumnal months of the season and in Mexico City delivered an emphatic performance. Lando scored a comfortable Pole and at the start avoided the drama that unfolded through the tricky first complex to open a buffer over the field, eventually taking a supreme victory by over half a minute. In the process, Lando was elevated back into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship for the first time since April, and he followed it up with a stunning display in São Paulo. Lando led Sprint Qualifying, won a rain-hit Sprint race, set Pole position, and was never threatened during the Grand Prix. Lando picked up maximum points from the weekend – 33 – and put himself in prime position for the ultimate goal. 

Lando entered the final round in Abu Dhabi 12 points clear of Max Verstappen, and 16 ahead of Oscar, requiring only a podium finish to be assured of the title. Given Lando had already taken 17 podiums in 2025, that was surely an easy target, right? Except, Championship showdowns are never completely straightforward.  

However, Lando had developed a trait for performing in pressure moments, whether it be last year’s Constructors’ Championship decider in Abu Dhabi, or his iconic wins in Monaco and Silverstone. Amid the intense scrutiny and the added pressure of a lifetime’s ambition being tantalisingly within reach, Lando qualified in second position. He dropped behind Oscar on the opening lap, but he kept hold of third place through the remainder of a tense 58-lap race around the Yas Marina Circuit. A year on from the win that gave the team its first Constructors’ Championship in 26 years, the third-place finish clinched Lando his maiden Drivers’ title, and the team’s first since 2008. Cue the celebrations. Time to get the No. 1 sticker ready for 2026…