Friday, December 12: The clock is ticking to the final showdown to decide the outcome of this year’s UIM F1H2O World Championship. The Road to Sharjah–Grand Prix of Sharjah will bring the 2025 championship to a dramatic conclusion on Khaled Lagoon from December 19th-21st.
The title fight arrives in the UAE finely poised, with a three-way showdown between Victory Team drivers Shaun Torrente and Alec Weckström and Team Sweden’s Jonas Andersson, while the Sharjah Team’s Rusty Wyatt retains a slim mathematical chance of an extraordinary late-season upset. The championship narrative has surged and shifted through the four rounds held on Lake Toba in Sumatra, Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Jeddah, setting the stage for a spectacular finale.
The Victory Team’s Torrente leads the standings with 89 points and arrives in the UAE’s third largest emirate with the clearest path to what would be his fourth world crown in eight years. The American rebuilt his campaign with characteristic consistency and underlined his title credentials with a commanding victory in Jeddah, where he dominated from pole to the chequered flag to build a 14-point advantage over defending champion Andersson.
Andersson arrives with 75 points after a turbulent but electrifying title defence marked by victory in Shanghai and a heroic recovery drive to second in Jeddah. His raw speed remains formidable and his six-point lead over Torrente in the F1H2O Pole Position Trophy reflects qualifying excellence that could prove crucial in Sharjah.
Mechanical issues in Indonesia, a disqualification in Zhengzhou and mid-race misfortune in Jeddah have left him in pursuit, but Andersson has repeatedly thrived under pressure and Sharjah’s demanding circuit could reward his aggressive pace. To overturn the deficit, he almost certainly needs a victory—and for Torrente to hit trouble—but few drivers are more capable of dragging a title fight to the final lap. Should Andersson win the Grand Prix, Torrente would secure the title by finishing at least fifth, assuming they amassed equal Sprint race results.
Weckström remains a title outsider with 72 points but has shown exceptional form throughout the year, including a maiden win in Zhengzhou. His and Torrente’s combined performances have given the Dubai-based Victory Team a nearly unassailable 41-point lead over the Sharjah Team in the UIM F1H2O Teams’ Championship.
A difficult weekend in Jeddah increased the pressure on the Finn, yet his pace and consistency mean he could play a decisive role—either emerging as a late championship threat or serving as a strategic asset for his team-mate. For Weckström to claim the title, he needs a perfect 30-point weekend and significant misfortune for both Torrente and Andersson.
The Sharjah Team’s Wyatt and Stefan Arand could well shape the title outcome. Wyatt began the season with a stunning win in Indonesia and remains a podium contender whenever reliability holds, while racing at home adds extra motivation. Now trailing Torrente by 24 points, Wyatt needs a near-miracle to take the championship but is more than capable of influencing the fight at the front.
Arand, meanwhile, has enjoyed an impressive season with standout drives including a charge from 19th to fourth in Shanghai, three fourth-place Grand Prix finishes and pole position on the Huangpu River in Shanghai.
Behind the title contenders, a competitive supporting cast has demonstrated enough speed to disrupt any championship scenario. Peter Morin, Bartek Marszalek, Erik Stark and Grant Trask have each delivered top-six finishes and could easily factor into the points order in Sharjah.
Morin sits sixth in the standings and has shown increasingly consistent pace with fifth places in Zhengzhou and Jeddah. Trask, after starting the year alongside Morin before moving to Team Sweden, has integrated strongly and claimed a podium in Shanghai.
Stark returned to Team Abu Dhabi seeking championship form and, despite setbacks, has historically excelled in Sharjah and aims to end his season on a high. Marszalek arrives in exceptional form after a superb performance in Jeddah, where he qualified fifth and finished third in both his Sprint race and the Grand Prix.
Further down the order, youthful energy and veteran experience continue to shape the grid. Alberto Comparato has shown strong Sprint race performances despite limited Grand Prix finishes, while rookie team-mate Damon Cohen has displayed promise with Sprint race top-six results and consistent points in earlier rounds.
The F1 Atlantic Team’s Ben Jelf began the year with podiums in Indonesia before reliability troubles struck, yet the Briton bounced back with seventh in Jeddah. His team-mate Duarte Benavente continues to deliver solid Sprint race drives but seeks his first Grand Prix points of the season.
Marit Strømøy enters Sharjah level on points with Jelf after a season of mixed fortunes but growing pace with the four-stroke Apex V8 DAC.
Meanwhile, Red Devil-SMC F1 Team drivers Ferdinand Zandbergen and Sami Sëlio demonstrated outstanding qualifying speed in Jeddah, though both were denied points by race-day setbacks. Their fourth-place Sprint results earlier in the season suggest they are on the brink of converting speed into results with the new Sharjah-designed hulls.
Team Abu Dhabi’s Mansoor Al-Mansoori continues to gain experience in his rookie season, scoring all his points through strong Sprint performances. Maverick Racing’s Alexandre Bourgeot and Cédric Deguisne have endured misfortune but shown flashes of competitiveness, with Bourgeot adding a valuable Grand Prix point to his tally in Jeddah.
The second China CTIC seat has been shared by Grant Trask, Kyle Maskall and Stefan Hagin as Brent Dillard recovered from back surgery in the United States. Dillard now returns in Sharjah, ready to rejoin the championship after a 2024 campaign highlighted by three Sprint race fifth places.
As the 2025 UIM F1H2O World Championship approaches its climax, Khaled Lagoon is set to welcome thousands of fans for a finale befitting one of the sport’s most iconic venues.
Race weekend opens with an official press conference at the Sharjah Holiday International Hotel on Friday morning (December 19th), followed by a two-hour free practice session at 14:00hrs.
Qualifying begins at 09:00hrs on Saturday, December 20th, before two crucial Sprint races are scheduled for 15:05hrs and 15:45hrs.
The final morning warm-up takes place from 10:00hrs on Sunday, December 21st, ahead of the Road to Sharjah–Grand Prix of Sharjah, which will bring the curtain down on the 2025 season from 15:05hrs.
