Lando Norris was declared the F1 World Champion on Sunday, but he won’t receive the actual trophy immediately. The McLaren driver secured third place in a thrilling season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, clinching his first-ever F1 World Championship title.
At 26 years old, the British driver outperformed strong contenders like Max Verstappen from Red Bull and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri during the intense 24-race season, earning motorsport’s most prestigious prize money. Although Norris held the trophy on the podium, it was not the official driver’s trophy.
The official FIA F1 World Drivers Championship Trophy is a sterling silver cup with gold accents, bearing the signatures of all 35 previous champions from F1’s 75-year history. The trophy displayed at Abu Dhabi and at the FIA driver press conference on Thursday was just a replica. Norris will receive the authentic trophy only at the FIA awards ceremony in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on December 12.
Importantly, Norris won’t keep the real trophy permanently. After the FIA ceremony, it will be sent to McLaren’s F1 factory in Woking, UK, for temporary display. The FIA will retrieve it after a year to present it to the 2026 F1 champion. If fans want the kind of trophy Norris keeps at home, they must commission a replica.
Verstappen seems to prefer such replicas, having joked about his collection of trophies during Thursday’s press event in Abu Dhabi, saying he has four trophies at home and hopes to add a fifth. Additionally, Norris will need to decide if he wants to race with the number 1 on his car next season—a choice Verstappen made in 2022, while Lewis Hamilton, who won six titles from 2014 to 2020, chose to keep his original race number.
Fan Take: This milestone for Lando Norris is huge for racing fans, signaling the rise of new talent and intensifying the sport’s competitive spirit. It adds fresh excitement and shifts the dynamics in F1, promising thrilling seasons ahead.
