The 2025 UIM F1H2O World Championship reached its conclusion in Sharjah with a race that had everything: title tension, mechanical heartbreak, and a breakthrough victory that lit up the home crowd.
The spotlight was firmly on Shaun Torrente, who sealed his fourth world title in the most unexpected way. The American driver, racing for the Victory Team, was forced to retire early with a blown engine after just 14 laps. Yet, thanks to the championship math, his season-long consistency was enough to crown him World Champion once again. The result also delivered Victory Team their first-ever Teams’ Championship, a landmark achievement for the Dubai-based outfit.
While Torrente celebrated from the shoreline, the race itself belonged to Sharjah. In front of passionate local supporters, 23-year-old Estonian Stefan Arand produced the finest performance of his young career. Starting his ninth Grand Prix, Arand drove with maturity well beyond his experience, pulling clear in the closing stages to claim a memorable first victory for the Sharjah Team.
Behind him, the battle for the podium stayed intense until the flag. Team Sweden’s Grant Trask fought his way into second, while Canadian Rusty Wyatt completed a strong day in third, securing third place overall in the Drivers’ Championship and giving Sharjah a celebratory 1–3 finish.
Torrente’s fourth crown places him alongside Scott Gillman and Alex Carella on four world titles, moving him closer to the all-time benchmark set by Guido Cappellini. For Torrente, the moment carried extra weight. Less than two years earlier, he had left the same venue on a stretcher. His return to the top was as much about resilience as results.
Arand, meanwhile, could barely hide his emotion after the finish. Having shown flashes of speed throughout the season, Sharjah was where everything finally came together. Smart decisions under pressure, especially after a mid-race yellow flag, allowed him to control the pace and keep his rivals at bay to the end.
The day proved far more frustrating for outgoing champion Jonas Andersson. Starting from pole, the Swede needed at least a second-place finish to keep his title hopes alive after Torrente’s retirement. Instead, early technical problems robbed him of power, and he steadily slipped down the order. Unable to fight back, Andersson crossed the line outside the podium places, finishing runner-up in the championship for the third time in six seasons.
Further down the field, the China CTIC Team ended their campaign on a positive note with Peter Morin taking fourth. Victory Team’s Alec Weckström delivered an impressive recovery drive after starting deep in the field due to an engine change, though a post-race penalty dropped him out of the top five. Maverick Racing also enjoyed their best result of the year, with Cédric Deguisne scoring points in eighth.
Only nine of the 19 starters made it to the finish in a race marked by retirements, yellow flags, and shifting fortunes. In the end, Sharjah celebrated a homegrown triumph, Torrente added another chapter to his legacy, and the 2025 season closed with a reminder of why F1H2O remains one of the most unpredictable and intense forms of motorsport on water.