McIlroy wins BBC SPOTY, Norris finishes third after F1 title year
Despite winning the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, Lando Norris finished third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. Golfer Rory McIlroy won the public vote, fueled by his long-awaited Masters victory and Ryder Cup success, highlighting the challenge F1 faces in the UK's premier popularity contest.
Lando Norris won the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, but in Britain's premier public sports award, he was outvoted by golfer Rory McIlroy. The McLaren driver finished third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year vote, behind runner-up England rugby star Ellie Kildunne and the victorious McIlroy, who secured his first Masters title to complete a career Grand Slam.
Why it matters:
The result highlights the enduring, broad-based popularity of mainstream sports like golf in a major public vote, even against the monumental achievement of an F1 world title. For Norris, it means missing out on joining an elite club of F1 champions like Lewis Hamilton and Nigel Mansell who have also won the SPOTY award, underscoring the unique challenge motorsport faces in this particular contest.
The details:
- Rory McIlroy's victory was built on a landmark year where he finally won The Masters at Augusta, completing the career Grand Slam of golf's four major championships.
- His influence extends beyond golf; he is also an investor in the Alpine Formula 1 team, part of a ownership group that includes other global sports stars.
- McIlroy further bolstered his case by helping Europe secure a narrow Ryder Cup victory, for which the team won the Team of the Year award on the same night.
- Lando Norris was one of six nominees. A win would have made him the sixth F1 world champion to claim the SPOTY prize.
The big picture:
Motorsport has a storied but intermittent history with the award. While legends like Stirling Moss (1961) and John Surtees (1959) have won, it often requires a seismic or narrative-driven season for an F1 driver to triumph in the public vote. Norris's 2025 title, while dominant, ultimately competed with the powerful, long-awaited story of McIlroy's Masters breakthrough and team success in the Ryder Cup.
What's next:
Norris heads into the off-season as the reigning F1 World Champion, a prize that arguably carries more global sporting weight than the SPOTY trophy. His focus will now shift to defending his title with McLaren in 2026. For McIlroy, the award caps a historic year and adds another accolade as he continues his involvement in both golf and Formula 1.