Lando Norris World Champion still sounds surreal to the Brit after sealing the 2025 title in Abu Dhabi. Third place was all he needed on Sunday, and while Max Verstappen won the race and Oscar Piastri finished second, Norris crossed the line in P3 and finally let the emotion hit him.
“I have not cried in a while. I did not think I would cry but I did,” “It is a long journey. My mum, my dad, they were the ones who supported me since the beginning. It feels amazing. I have dreamed of this for a long time.”
The moment completed a 16 to 17 year chase of a single goal, from karting days to McLaren’s junior programme and his 2019 debut, all culminating under the Yas Marina floodlights.
How “Lando Norris World Champion” storyline was built the hard way
This title never felt straightforward. Norris led the standings from Mexico, then saw his cushion slashed. A double disqualification for McLaren in Las Vegas, a strategy miss in Qatar and Verstappen’s late season charge dragged the gap down to just 12 points before the Abu Dhabi GP.
In the race he lost second to Piastri on Lap 1 and came under real pressure from Charles Leclerc. For several laps, his “just finish on the podium” brief looked anything but simple.
“I knew it was a long race to the very end. We have seen many times anything in F1 can happen,” Norris said. “I just kept pushing until the last two or three laps when I could ease it off a bit, but I still wanted to fight to the end.”
Behind the calm radio messages was a driver managing tyre wear, engine temperatures, traffic and the weight of a first title shot all at once.
Winning it “my way” against Verstappen and Piastri
Across 2025, Norris faced two very different title rivals. Piastri led the championship for longer than anyone, with a blistering mid season run. Verstappen arrived late to the party after overhauling a huge points deficit and finishing the year with the most race wins.
For Norris, though, the biggest statement was not beating them on paper, but doing so without changing who he is.
“That is one of the things that makes me most proud,” he explained. “I feel like I have managed to win it the way I wanted to win it, which was not by being someone I am not.
“Not trying to be as aggressive as Max or as forceful as other champions in the past. I just won it my way, by being a fair driver, by trying to be an honest driver.”
He acknowledged there were moments when pushing harder or taking bigger risks might have worked in the short term. Instead he chose consistency, cleaner racecraft and a deeper reset off track, bringing in extra support to work on his mentality and preparation when a rough early run of results hit his confidence.
From streaming kid to Lando Norris World Champion
The story also stretches beyond the cockpit. Since 2020, Norris has built a reputation as one of F1’s most open and online facing drivers, from streaming during lockdown to talking about mental health and pressure in front of a young fanbase.
That honesty has been central to his appeal and shaped how many fans experienced this title fight. The same driver who once spoke about anxiety during his rookie season is now explaining in detail how he worked through self doubt to reach a championship level.
“It started after I had that bad run early in the year,” he said. “It was like, alright, my way is not working. I have got to understand things differently, speak to more people, understand what I am thinking and why.
“I needed to do more than just try again next weekend. I needed to understand things on a deeper level, mentally. The struggles turned into strength.”
The version of Norris that arrived in Abu Dhabi was more complete: quicker under pressure in qualifying, calmer in wheel to wheel fights and sharper across full race distances.
The Tsunoda moment and holding his nerve
Even on the day of his coronation there were flashpoints. One of the most tense came in his fight with Yuki Tsunoda, when the Red Bull driver squeezed Norris and forced him briefly off the track as he charged back into the podium places.
Race control noted the move, the stewards investigated and Tsunoda was hit with a penalty that helped defuse any threat to Norris’s result.
“I had no idea I was under investigation,” Norris admitted. “I did not care. I knew what I did was fine, so I had nothing to worry about. I was just trying to enjoy the moment. Not many people in F1 get to experience what I have experienced this season.”
By the closing laps, the threat from Leclerc faded, the Tsunoda incident was resolved and he could finally let the reality of the championship sink in.
“I felt calm until three corners to go,” he smiled. “Then I started to shake a little bit. Seeing the team when I went over the line is a moment I will never forget.”
McLaren, loyalty and why this title feels different
For McLaren, Norris’s championship is their first Drivers’ title since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. For Norris, it is the pay off for nearly a decade embedded in the same organisation.
“It has been a long journey with McLaren,” he said. “I have been with them for like nine years, we have been through plenty of crazy difficult times and plenty of good times.
“For me to feel like I could bring something back to them, it is their first Drivers title in many years, I feel like I did my part for the team this year. I am very proud of myself for that, but I am even more proud for everyone that I have hugged and made cry.”
He also framed his motivation in terms of the people around him, not just beating Verstappen or Piastri.
“My motivation is not to prove I am better than someone else,” he added. “I am proud because I feel like I made a lot of other people happy. My engineers do not see their families much, they have seen me grow up more than their own kids.
“The fact I get to make them feel like their time has been worth it, that is what makes me so happy.”
What comes next for the new champion
Regulation changes for 2026 mean nothing is guaranteed. McLaren could stay at the front, slip back into the pack or gain even more ground. Norris is aware this might be his only golden shot, even if he hopes it is not.
“This might be my only time, I really hope it is not,” he admitted. “I want to enjoy this moment because not many people will get to experience it. I hope it does not change what I do or how I think. I just want to keep being myself.”
Whatever happens next, the 2025 season has already defined something important: in a sport that often rewards ruthlessness, proves there is space for a different profile of champion. Open, self aware, digitally fluent and determined to win without becoming someone else.
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