IndyCar champ Alex Palou shares message for Max Verstappen and Lando Norris after F1 title showdown in Abu Dhabi

IndyCar champion Alex Palou congratulated Lando Norris for winning the 2025 F1 drivers' championship, but had more appreciation for Max Verstappen's sensational comeback, which unfortunately felt short towards the end. The Red Bull driver won the Abu Dhabi GP, but fell two points short of Norris for the title.

Verstappen was the driver to beat in the second half of the season. He finished all 10 races on the podium, six of which were victories. He suddenly found himself on equal footing with the dominant McLarens, on the back of internal changes in the team, with Red Bull relying more on Max Verstappen's feedback than the technical telemetry data.

The four-time F1 champion didn't put one foot wrong in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. However, his fate wasn't entirely in his hands, because he needed Lando Norris to finish in P4 or lower. But that was far from happening, as the McLaren driver executed his race to perfection to finish on the podium in P3.

IndyCar champion Alex Palou shared a message to both drivers in an X post, writing:

"Congrats @LandoNorris. Thank you @Max33Verstappen for making this end of the season so fun to watch!"

Alex Palou Montalbo

@AlexPalou

Congrats @LandoNorris 👏 Thank you @Max33Verstappen for making this end of the season so fun to watch!

Palou was rooting for Verstappen, a former teammate of his from their karting days, to win his fifth consecutive title at the Abu Dhabi GP, the site of the Dutchman's first championship in 2021. In a pre-race messageon X, the four-time IndyCar champion wrote:

"Please do it @Max33Verstappen 😏"

Palou's message had another layer, which is the lawsuit he was embroiled in against McLaren. The court's verdict is awaited on the $20 million that McLaren is seeking in damages from the Spaniard over a breach of contract in 2023.

Max Verstappen's touching message to Red Bull after losing F1 championship to Lando Norris

Max Verstappen celebrates with the winner's trophy at the 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen entered the Abu Dhabi GP weekend with a 12-point gap to overcome against Lando Norris. Red Bull didn't have the quickest car on Friday, but key changes before qualifying helped the Dutchman put his RB21 on pole position.

He got a decent start to the 58-lap race to sustain the lead, which he held onto until his first pit stop. Oscar Piastri, who started on the Hards, was the leader for the mid-part of the race, but lost it to Verstappen on lap 42.

Thereon, Max Verstappen sailed to a victory. Even though it wasn't enough, and Lando Norris won the drivers' championship, the Dutchman appreciated his Red Bull squad's immense efforts.

"Congrats guys," Verstappen said on team radio after the race."What a comeback in the second half of the season. We can be really proud of that. Don't be too disappointed, I am definitely not disappointed. Really proud of everyone who never gave up."

"Keep pushing, never giving up, believing in making it a success again, even when it was really difficult. So, thank you very much, everyone. Thank you Honda for all these years together and all these amazing successes we've had. Definitely closed it in style," he added.

Lando Norris became the 35th world champion in F1 history and the 11th one from Great Britain. Max Verstappen ended the season with the most wins (8), most poles (8), and most laps led (454).