“I had my doubts at the beginning of the year, but it turns out I was wrong, which makes me very happy.”
Lando Norris is the F1 world champion and he did it his way. A season-long battle with teammate Oscar Piastri as well as Max Verstappen ended in a relatively easy third place, securing the first title for a McLaren driver.
Over the past 266 days, there were times when Norris looked like a world champion all the way, and times when he didn’t look far from it.
The first race in Australia was a foreshadowing of what was to come. Norris and Piastri fought for victory with clearly the fastest cars, but an unexpected turn of events in the weather saw one of them drop out of contention, almost costing Verstappen the win. As has been the case for most of the season, the Dutchman was immediately there in important moments and tried to take advantage.
After Verstappen’s record 10th in a row in Qatar, Norris’ first chance to win the title was gone and he went into the final round knowing there were two threats to snatch the championship.
This decision machine lacked advantages in many respects. This is because there was no rift between the two rival teams throughout the season. Christian Horner’s departure from Red Bull took away one of its villains, but even sources close to the team question whether the rebuild would have been possible without the change in leadership and the subsequent arrival of Laurent Mequise.
Verstappen’s return also changed the way tensions escalated. Unlike 2021 – when the two drivers often occupied the same track space and were in closely fought cars – or 2024 – when Verstappen had to defend his existing lead against the faster McLaren – this was a year in which one car often had an advantage in the closing stages, allowing the McLaren’s missed opportunities to narrow the gap.
Still, it meant a lot to everyone involved, and Norris had the most to lose as the leader going into the final round.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for our whole lives,” he said before the finale.
As the race unfolded, Norris had a clear game plan. He was not very aggressive in the opening laps as Piastri took second place, but he regained his rhythm after the opening stint and was only able to cover for the threat from behind. Drivers often say they’re only focused on the moment, but Norris said he keeps the championship in mind and works to cover every eventuality.
“I can’t help but think about it,” he said. “It’s a long race to the end. We’ve seen many times in F1 what can happen. We kept pushing until the last couple of laps. (Then) we were able to slow down a bit, but we still wanted to fight to the end and that’s what we did.”
“That’s what we had to do this season. Max was chasing me the whole time and finally Oscar caught up again. They certainly didn’t make my life easy this year.
“But I felt calm. I was calm until the last three corners, when I started to shake a little. I could immediately recall these great memories, and then when I crossed the line I could see the team. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
There have been moments of drama between the McLaren pair – Canada comes to mind – but no one can deny that their approach will pay off in the long run, first with the constructors’ title here in Singapore and then with Norris taking the crown in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Kim Ilman/Getty Images
Verstappen’s fightback was very impressive considering Red Bull’s struggles earlier this season, but Norris had to outdo his teammate in Piastri, who had the same strong car in the first half of the year but was equally less dominant after the summer break. All of this played out within McLaren’s even-handed approach to racing, the infamous Papaya Rule, and there were times when the pair seemed to lack the ferocious edge they needed to claim championship status.
Norris’ honesty has sometimes been used against him in a number of areas, including his confidence and mental health, but he finds it particularly satisfying to win the title with such an approach.
“That’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” Norris said. “I feel like I managed to win the way I wanted to win. It wasn’t about being someone I wasn’t. I wasn’t trying to be aggressive like Max or powerful like other champions in the past, whatever it was.
“I’m happy. I just won the way I did. Like Andrea (Stella) said, I’m happy to come out the way I am and win the Lando way. I’m happy for sure.”
“Couldn’t I have gone out and been the person that you sometimes want me to be? I could have done that. I wouldn’t have been too proud in a way. So I’m pretty happy with myself. I stayed calm, stayed myself, stayed focused on myself and made the best of who I am.
“Sometimes I say stupid things, I say things about Max, I say things about Lewis (Hamilton) in the past that everyone talks about. There are things I regret and things I didn’t say because I wanted to take them back, but I honestly believe I respect (everyone) more than anyone else.”
“I have more respect for Oscar. I have more respect for Max. I try to give Lewis as much respect as possible. He’s a seven-time world champion and the best driver. I would compare him to (Michael) Schumacher, the best driver in F1 history. I’m not even close to that. I may never be. I dream of something like that.”
“I dreamed about today and I managed to get one out of seven compared to him. Do I regret some of the comments I might have said in the cool-down room or something? Yes, but a lot of them were in the heat of the moment and by the time I was done saying it I was like, ‘Why the hell did I say that?!’
That doesn’t mean Norris doesn’t still struggle at times with the reaction to his approach, and will likely be looking to reap the rewards of a title shot. He is known to say one thing and then admit the exact opposite in the same sentence, as he struggles with what he wants to say and what he really thinks, and that uncertainty is sometimes reflected in his driving. Small qualifying mistakes and poor race technique seemed to cost big chances at the start of the year, but they all cleared up as the season progressed, especially in time for end-of-year business. Norris said he doesn’t have to listen to outside noise as often now that he’s confident he can become a world champion with his style.
“I try to be as honest as possible,” he said. “I always try to tell the truth. I never try to give people a false understanding of things. If I think we can win, I’m going to say, ‘I think we’re going to win.'” If I think Red Bull are fast, I’m going to say so. I always try to be honest…I have nothing to gain by trying to hide things from you guys.
“Deep down, do I really hate it when you write shit about me? I do. That’s life too, and I’ve learned to live with some of those things more acceptingly. I also value that everyone has their own opinion, whether they like me or not, whether someone else is better or not.”
“The reason I’m happy is because I was able to do things my way this season. I won the championship my way, my style of just trying to be a good person and a good team member, so I’m proud of that. No matter what other people want to write or say about it, no one knows the truth except the people on the inside as far as what’s going on.
“I don’t need to hear that. So as long as I know I’ve done a good job and I’ve proven I can do it, that’s really all I need to hear — about myself and my team. That’s all I need to hear.”
Only 35 drivers have ever won a world championship, and titles don’t come by chance. Norris may have had doubts and doubted himself during this season, but now that he has joined that exclusive club, he can now stare at his car with a championship trophy, or a future No. 1, and know that doing things the way he does has worked to win F1’s biggest prize.
