After clinching his first F1 title on Sunday, it was hours after the checkered flag when Lando Norris showed that the sport had a new type of champion.
Norris, who used his driving skills to lead Max Verstappen to the championship, held a press conference full of words that meant as much to some fans as the title-clinching overtake.
In an era of Netflix’s Drive To Survive and social media allowing for direct engagement with fans, it seems that an F1 driver’s popularity is driven as much by what they do outside the cockpit as what they do inside.
Norris is a great example, with the Brit having built a huge and loyal fan base long before he won his first F1 race in May 2024.
Norris’ brash, talkative personality that entered the sport in 2019 no doubt plays a role, but many of his fans are drawn to his sincerity.
When the 2020 F1 season was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Norris engaged directly with fans (generally younger) on streaming platforms. He spoke about the mental health struggles he experienced during his first year on the grid at age 19.
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A look back at the story of Lando Norris and his career
Norris will continue to be a key advocate for mental health and will be working with the charity Mind in 2021 to raise awareness and encourage others to seek support if they need it.
One could argue that Norris’ streaming background is best revealed during F1 weekends when he fulfills his media responsibilities.
Unlike most drivers on the grid, Norris often gets lost in a stream of consciousness, spouting his thoughts to the world’s media, sometimes generating unwanted headlines.
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Lando Norris celebrates becoming world champion with tears, donuts and hugs!
So it was fitting that after Sunday’s victory, Norris made some of the most candid and descriptive statements as he reflected on his path to glory and looked to the future.
Asked about refusing to conform to the traditional expectations of an elite athlete, Norris said: “That’s one of the things I’m most proud of. I feel like I managed to win the championship the way I wanted to win, and it wasn’t about being someone I’m not.”
“I wasn’t trying to be as aggressive as Max (Verstappen) or as powerful as other champions in the past, whatever that is.
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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was accused of sabotaging title rival Lando Norris after being given incorrect information by engineer Giampiero Lambiase during practice in Abu Dhabi.
“I just won my way. As[McLaren team principal]Andrea[Stella]said to me, I’m happy to go 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 you want me to be sometimes? I could have done that. I wouldn’t have been so proud of it in a way. So I’m pretty happy with myself. I’ve been able to stay calm, stay myself, stay focused on myself, and make the most of who I am.”
How will Rand do things differently in 2025?
Although Norris was a bit stubborn in his approach to racing, his willingness to implement mid-season changes made this victory possible.
The Briton enters the year as the clear favorite following McLaren’s strong 2024 performance, which saw Norris win in Abu Dhabi and seal the constructors’ championship in style.
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Lando Norris kept his promise from 2024 and won the 2025 F1 Drivers’ Championship.
Norris has been in the spotlight more than ever in the weeks leading up to the season, and he achieved pole position and victory at the opening race in Australia.
But while teammate Oscar Piastri showed significant improvement, he was unable to maintain his form and won four of the next five races to take the championship lead and replace Norris as the title favorite for many onlookers.
Norris revealed on Sunday that he realized a change was needed at this stage of the season.
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Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, George Russell and Carlos Sainz react to Lando Norris winning the 2025 title
“It started after I had a bad run in those areas, races two, three, four, five, six,” he said.
“I was like, ‘Okay, the way I do it doesn’t work.’ You have to understand things differently. You have to talk to more people. You have to understand what you’re thinking and why you’re thinking the way you are. Why am I doing this? Why am I nervous in qualifying? Why am I making decisions like that?
“Certainly, the bad results and the lack of performance, I think it’s not the speed, and the speed is always there, so even though I had the ability to put things together, it was the lack of putting things together that allowed or opened the door for me to understand, ‘Okay, I need to do more than just try again next weekend. Mentally, I need to try to understand things on a deeper level.’
“It helped me understand myself more and it helped me understand things more at the championship level. That’s the level I have to get to. They’re world champions. And certainly, that struggle turned into strength.”
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Lando Norris comfortably wins the chaotic Mexico City Grand Prix and becomes championship leader
These changes ultimately paid off, with Norris returning to his best form towards the end of the season, particularly with back-to-back wins in Mexico City and São Paulo.
Had it not been for a technical failure at the Dutch Grand Prix and McLaren’s two disqualifications at Las Vegas, Norris might have won the title sooner, but he went into the final race knowing that a podium finish would be enough to clinch the title.
Despite being under pressure in qualifying, he secured second place on the grid, and in the race he made several nerve-wracking overtakes to protect his position. Among them was Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Hiroki Tsunoda, who was given a penalty for an awkward overtake that pushed Norris off the track.
“We got pretty close,” he recalled. “And it’s crazy to think about it, because you’re like, ‘Damn, if it’s another five centimeters, it’s over.'”
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Lando Norris had a fierce battle with Yuki Tsunoda in Abu Dhabi
Norris’ motivation – to make others happy
Piastri appeared to be Norris’ main rival for most of the year, but it was reigning champion Verstappen who emerged as the biggest threat late in the season.
Norris gained dueling experience with the Dutchman late last season, and a competitive rivalry developed between the pair, who shared a good friendship.
Barbs was traded in the build-up to the final, with Verstappen claiming he could have easily won the title had he driven a McLaren, and Norris responded by accusing his rival of saying “nonsense”.
Nevertheless, Norris insisted that his satisfaction did not come from defeating Verstappen, but rather from being proud of those who support him: his friends, family and colleagues.
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Lando Norris has responded to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s comments that if he had driven a McLaren, his race for the F1 title would have already been over.
“My motivation is not to prove I’m better than anyone else,” Norris said. “It doesn’t make me happy. I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and think, ‘I won against Max, so I’m so happy.'” To be honest, deep down I don’t care about that.
“I’m proud because I feel like I’ve made a lot of other people happy. I’ve made engineers Will (Joseph, (Andrew) Jarvis) happy as well. They don’t get to see their families as much. They’ve watched me grow up more than they’ve watched their own kids grow up.”
“I feel bad about that. But the fact that they put so much effort into letting me perform and helping all of us perform. The fact that I was able to make them feel like their time was worth a little bit makes me very happy.”
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McLaren celebrates Lando Norris’ world title win with champagne spray in paddock
Norris’ future
As is the nature of top-level sport, just hours after Norris took the checkered flag, attention was already turning to the future and whether more championships would follow.
While others might have taken the opportunity to assert themselves, especially against his teammate who won the title, Norris did the opposite against Piastri, describing the Australian as “a guy who will probably beat me and become world champion at some point in the future.”
With major regulation changes planned for next season, Norris is well aware that there is no guarantee that McLaren will remain at the front of the grid for long.
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The moment Lando Norris became the 2025 F1 World Champion!
“This might be my only time. I really hope it’s not,” he said. “And I’m sure this isn’t the only time I’ll be sitting here alone.
“But I want to enjoy this moment because not many people will ever get to experience what I was able to experience today.”
Without the pressure of delivering a championship to those he cares about, Norris should theoretically become an even more dangerous competitor for his rivals.
But Britain’s 11th F1 champion isn’t too worried about that.
Looking to the future, he said, “I hope nothing changes in the way I act, the way I think, the way I do things.”
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