Lando Norris is the new king of Formula 1. At the end of the last Grand Prix of the season, Sunday in Abu Dhabi where he finished 3rd, the Briton from McLaren confirmed his first world title, at 26 years old. The consecration of a linear progression since its debut in the premier category, in 2019.
Fighting to the end with his teammate Oscar Piastri and the four-time defending champion, Max Verstappen (Red Bull), the one who has long been given the mocking nickname “Lando No-wins” – he waited five years before winning a victory in F1 – finished at the top of the drivers’ standings with 2 small points ahead of “Mad Max”. Hotly, at a press conference, he congratulated himself on having maintained a constant level of performance, having reached the podium 18 times in 24 Grands Prix: “The Championship was not won today (editor’s note: Sunday). It was won by my regularity during the year. I performed when I had to.”
He expanded his circle of collaborators
The Bristol native says he has “had a lot of tough times this season”: “Winning the first race in Australia gave me a lot of momentum but, pretty quickly, the results weren’t great. During the first part of the season, I made mistakes, bad judgments. I had doubts and I erased them, I am very happy about it.” To do this, he drew resources beyond his own stable, surrounding himself with specialists who “helped him to be calmer, to perform under pressure”.
Norris still recognizes a certain nervousness as the finish approaches. “I was calm until the last three corners. There, I started to tremble a little, he confided to journalists. Incredible things came to my mind. Those years when I watched F1 on TV, when I started karting…”
“Firstly proud to make others happy”
The protégé of Zak Brown, boss of McLaren, also insisted on the collective value of his achievement. “I’m not just proud to say that I’m a world champion. “I am first and foremost proud to make others happy,” he said. Starting with his family: “I wouldn’t be here without my parents, without their sacrifices. My brother, my sisters, the number of times they write to me and I don’t respond… It all led us here. It’s not my World Championship, it’s ours. For the first time, I can really thank them all. I can make them all smile.” In the same vein, Lando Norris paid tribute to his engineers, who “saw him grow more than their own children”: “I’m sorry,” he apologized. They put so much effort into helping me perform…”
Facade speech or illustration of deep humility? Whatever the case, the Briton nourishes the feeling of having achieved a triumph in his image. “I believe I won the Championship in my own way, by being an honest driver,” he assured. Sometimes I could have been more aggressive and passed a few guys. Maybe I should do it more in the future, but is this how I want to race?
A way of placing himself in opposition to Max Verstappen, the fallen king accustomed to bloodshed. This bodes well for a lasting rivalry. Thrilling.
