Three drivers dominated the title conversation from the opening round: Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, alongside four-time defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. Piastri took the Drivers' Championship lead at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and held it for 15 rounds, making him the first Australian to lead the standings since Mark Webber in 2010. Norris eventually recaptured the advantage and entered the Abu Dhabi finale 12 points clear of Verstappen, who had erased what had been a 104-point deficit.
Verstappen won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but Norris finished third, which was sufficient to clinch the title by two points. Piastri ended the season in third place, 13 points adrift of Norris. Norris became the 35th World Drivers' Champion and the eighth to claim the title in a McLaren car. The Constructors' title was secured earlier, at the Singapore Grand Prix, giving McLaren ten championships in total — second all-time behind Ferrari.
Norris took pole for the Australian Grand Prix and won despite changeable intermediate conditions. Verstappen pressured him in the closing laps but could not find a way past, with Russell third. A dramatic Chinese Grand Prix saw Hamilton give Ferrari their first sprint victory of the year; Piastri won the Sunday race with Norris in second, though Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly were subsequently disqualified for underweight cars. Verstappen won in Japan, and then took victory in Saudi Arabia before a penalty dropped him behind Piastri in the result.
The biggest transfer of the winter sent Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari after twelve seasons at Mercedes, ending his record for consecutive seasons with a single constructor. His replacement at Mercedes was junior driver Kimi Antonelli, promoted directly from Formula 2. Carlos Sainz Jr. left Ferrari to join Williams on a multi-year contract.
Haas introduced an entirely new lineup: Oliver Bearman stepped up from Formula 2 and Esteban Ocon joined from Alpine. Nico Hulkenberg transferred to Sauber, where he partnered reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto. Red Bull signed Liam Lawson from Racing Bulls to replace Sergio Perez; after just two rounds, Lawson was sent back to the junior team and Yuki Tsunoda was promoted. At Alpine, Jack Doohan lost his seat mid-season to Franco Colapinto, who held it to the end of the year.
The minimum driver weight rose from 80 to 82 kilograms to benefit taller and heavier competitors. A cooling kit became compulsory in sessions forecast above 30.5 degrees Celsius. Rear wing deflection limits were tightened to combat the mini-DRS flexing technique. The fastest-lap championship point, reinstated in 2019, was abolished. Driver conduct regulations introduced a graduated scale of fines and suspensions for offensive language, gestures, or political statements, with the FIA later granting stewards more discretion in applying penalties. Teams had to run a rookie driver in free practice twice per car across the season, doubled from the previous requirement. Six sprint format weekends featured the Chinese, Miami, Belgian, United States, Sao Paulo and Qatar Grands Prix.
McLaren's title double ended a period of Red Bull supremacy that had stretched across four consecutive Drivers' championships under Verstappen. The ten Constructors' titles placed McLaren second all-time, ahead of Williams. It was the first McLaren season since 1998 — the year of Mika Hakkinen's first drivers' crown — to produce both championships simultaneously.