Norris heading into 2026 F1 season with new self-belief, but a familiar mission

One of the shortest off-seasons in recent Formula 1 memory had the majority of the drivers back on track one a week ago, just 50 days after last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

For Lando Norris, that race was the moment he was crowned world champion for the first time, earning himself the No. 1 on his car for this coming season.

Norris was driving again two days later in the post-season test, and with all of the duties required of a new champion, there was little time to really reflect on his achievement. Yet the reality of seeing that special number on his 2026 car in Barcelona allowed it to sink in that little bit more.

When he faced the media en masse for the first time at the McLaren Technology Center this week, it was hard for Norris to keep the smile from his face.

“Obviously coming back to work and stuff, people say (you're the champion) and that's always a nice thing, but that realization of when you see (the No. 1) on the car for the first time, when I see it on my helmet, the suit, it almost makes you re-think of everything again and brings back all the memories,” Norris said.

“It's more like that's the reality, you finally see it on something, which is cool. So yeah, I was smiling, so of course I was smiling.

“I think just the fact of, I still have many more years in Formula 1, and I will still try and get as many more championships as possible. If I never do, I'm still happy. I still achieved one. It has been 20 years from starting karting to last year, trying to achieve what I achieved, and what we all achieved as a team, and my group and my family.

“So it's a lot of time and effort and singular focus, and then it's done. I don't know... I guess not many people maybe in life get to achieve that end goal, or their life goal, but that was it. So if you ever see me not smiling or something, just give me a punch or something. Remind me, because I achieved my goal in life and I'm very happy, and proud. So that's something I'll always forever take with me."

The last driver to win their first world championship was Max Verstappen, and he went on to reel off four in a row. Prior to that, however, Nico Rosberg walked away from the sport after the 2016 season, having achieved his lifetime ambition.

Rosberg was five years older than Norris and had started over 50 more races, but it shows that different personalities react differently to the achievement. For Norris, his satisfaction at getting one title under his belt hasn’t had a lasting impact on his desire for further success.

“Honestly, no [I don’t need to find more motivation]," he says. "As much as I say that, I don't feel any different coming into this season. I still feel like I just want to go out and win. I feel like that's just my baseline feeling consistently. I think it's just more at the end of the day, if I don't achieve something again, I always have something that I'm very proud about, and I know is a huge achievement.

“But it certainly hasn't taken away any ambition or desire to want to do it again or to come into this season and not care about it. That's certainly not how I have seen everything.

Norris will carry the No.1 this year, and says his goal for the coming season is to make sure he keeps it for 2027. Clive Mason/Getty Images

“If anything, I enjoyed last year a lot. And, of course, I want to do it again, just hopefully with a longer off-season at the end of this year! That would be nice.

“I have that feeling... if I don't achieve something again, I have something to always fall back on, in a way. And I'll always be proud, no matter what people say. But I come into this year with the same ambition as I did last year, which is to try and win again.”

In carrying the same level of determination into the new season, it was suggested to Norris that his inner drive could be similar to that of serial winners that have gone before him, such as Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

But there are other constants that Norris is sticking to, including the desire to not compare his way of doing things to that of his peers.

“I can't answer what Michael and [Lewis and Max] thought," he says. "I think it's quite clear that I have a different mentality and a different approach to, say, what Max has – good or bad, you decide. There's a lot of things that I still admire in Max, and I wish I had a little bit more of that here and there.

“I'm always trying to improve on my things. I know there's still areas that I'm not at the level I need to be. It's a good level, but when you're fighting these guys, you need to be close to perfection. So there's still plenty of things I want to work on and I want to be better at, but the baseline level of where I'm at now is already pretty good.

“My motivation to win is exactly the same. I've definitely not lost anything, and if anything I think I just have more confidence, because I've said in interviews in the past that I'm a guy who has to see something to believe in, especially when it's been anything to do with myself.

“Did I believe I could be on pole for the first time or win a race? When I've done it, I've gone, ‘I can do it.’ That's just how I've thought and I've believed. I certainly got better at a lot of things last year, which was my mental preparation and mental state, dealing with the good times and bad times and all of them in between. I certainly had to find my own way and not disregard what other people have done in the past, but just understand what is always going to motivate me.

“A lot of my motivation, like I said in the past, is not just picturing me on the top step of a podium or holding another trophy. A lot of it is being with the team and allowing them to have the trophies, and party, and celebrate and that kind of thing.

“I'm not too fussed, honestly, about how other people have thought about stuff. But my motivation is just as high to try and win again and do my team proud.”

It remains to be seen whether McLaren has given Norris a car with which he can defend his title, and who is main rivals might be. But if he can marry his motivation with added confidence and some of the performances that propelled him to the title last year, he could well prove to be an even more formidable competitor.