As title handover approaches, Norris is still building his self-belief

Lando Norris has been asked a thousand times what it’s like to be the reigning world champion. Making it a thousand and one is hardly an original way to kick off time with the 26-year-old, especially as it interrupts him from trying to organize his next game of padel. 

But the number one on his car is not going to be there for much longer, as Kimi Antonelli moves ever-closer to his own first title. The padel might be recreational, but Norris is still a competitor, and it doesn’t take any insinuation that his time as the holder of the crown is coming to an end for him to admit the present has far overtaken the past. 

“How has it felt? I mean, not as good as I would have liked, because everything’s relative,” Norris admits. “I care more about performances this year. Like every time I go out and race, I just want to win that race. 

“So, you forget when you’re on track what happened last year and if you won or not. The goal today is to win this weekend, so I care about here and now, not necessarily last year. But of course, when I hear about it, when people talk about it, when I remind myself of it – which is rare – or I see my trophy, then it’s always a very, very good feeling and the fact that people call me the world champion and I see the one on my car still makes me smile every single time. 

“So, it’s amazing, but I think in racing, time goes quickly, so none of that necessarily helps this year, and your focus quickly shifts. That’s the only thing that kind of takes away from it, is you don’t have a year to just enjoy that whole moment, because before you know it, you’re into another season and you’re trying to win it or you’re trying to do it all over again.” 

Quite often when a driver achieves one of their lifelong dreams – whether that’s a debut race, a first win or the championship – it can take a while to sink in. Really appreciating the magnitude of the moment in the immediate aftermath is not always easy, and Norris admits he wasn’t sure how it would impact him. But over the season that’s followed, safe in the knowledge that he will forever have that 2025 title, he’s found a comforting continuity in his hunger to deliver the best possible result each and every weekend. 

“I didn’t really know what to expect. I don’t think anyone knows what to expect,” he said. “You don't know if your life will change or not change. You don’t know if you need to act different or not act different… 

“You don’t know what to think, because it’s such a thing that you don’t experience in any other way of life, so you can’t prepare for it. But at the same time, the more I’ve gone through the year, the more I’m happy, nothing changes, because I’m very happy with my life. I’m in a very lucky position to just do what I want to do every weekend, go and travel and race in F1 and do all of those things, and therefore there’s no reason anything else should change. 

“Of course, I wish things were better in terms of performances this year, but I would happily sacrifice one year to have a championship another year, and that’s what we had to do last year. But again, the focus is on what’s the best job now, and sometimes that’s a fifth, sometimes it’s a 10th, sometimes that’s a win, but that’s still what makes me happy now today.” 

While a more problematic car has prevented a title defense, in some ways it has enabled Norris to demonstrate his skills and adaptability even more. Anni Graf/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Although Norris claims nothing changes, it’s quite clear that his confidence has. He admits the difference in his rookie self to the one racing in Formula 1 seven years later is “pretty insane” and it has manifested itself in many different ways. 

There was a massively impressive run that was a virtual safety car away from being three wins in four races to conclude the European season, but then across the most recent tripleheader of races on consecutive weekends, there were perhaps missteps, too. 

More willing to be outspoken, Norris’ snap reaction to Franco Colapinto’s error in Baku ignited fierce debate – and plenty of uncalled-for abuse – before he revealed he’d apologized for his comments. Norris then hit teammate Oscar Piastri in the Sprint at Singapore, with an overtaking attempt that did not impress his McLaren bosses. Again, he stood firm in his belief that he had a right to make the move initially, before later accepting he should never have launched such an attack on the final lap against the sister car. 

But those incidents and reactions don’t overshadow the underlying performances. In fact, it’s actually Piastri who can provide the best context of all, having struggled to match Norris as regularly this season. 

“I think the confidence [Mercedes drivers] have on the way into corners is generally something we envy,” Piastri says. “And, putting it bluntly, I think some of the laps that Lando’s done in qualifying to put the car on pole have been better than what the car deserves.” 

High praise, given Piastri knows exactly what the McLaren has been like to drive. It’s often described as a “particular” car, with unique demands, so to finish last year so strongly and then deliver on that level this season, too, is impressive from Norris. While he takes some satisfaction from performing consistently across different rulesets, the biggest benefit he has seen from winning a world championship is not the actual title that came with it, but all of the examples of what he is capable of that added up to that final result. 

“There’s certainly no freedom [having won a title],” he said. “I think this car requires more focus and more diligence to understand and figure out than I think the last few years, and I think I’ve just done a very good job at working at that. 

“Yes, I do feel just more relaxed because I’ve achieved my dream. It’s not like a relax, now I can just chill out and not care – I care just as much – it’s just I can feel more relaxed because every time I go out and I go into qualifying or I go into a race, I don’t question myself as much as I did last year, and I don’t go into it going, ’Oh, can I get on pole today? Am I going to be able to put in a good lap in Q3?’ Now I go in and I tell myself, ’You can do it, and you have done it.’ 

“I rely as a person very much on my own experiences, on being able to tell myself if something’s possible or not, because it’s me going out and doing it. Just because someone else has done it doesn’t mean anyone can do it. I don’t believe in that, but I’ve always needed to prove things to myself to believe it kind of thing, and the fact I achieved what I did last year has allowed me to make use of that a lot more. 

“So every time I do go out for a session, even in the tougher times, I’m able to go, ’I had a lot of tough times last year, and that’s when I did some of my best performances. So I can do it again today, or I can do it again in this session.’ 

“It’s just I’m able to rely on my own ability, and I’ve trusted my own ability, and that’s something I questioned more last season, and now I can rely on this season, and it’s just that allows me to relax and at times do the performances I’ve done this season.” 

The mantle might about to be passed to Antonelli, and Norris might not get to carry the same number on his car in 2027, but he will not have to give up the self-belief he has earned over the past two years. By reinforcing it with some of his performances this year, Norris promises to be an even stronger contender if given championship-worthy machinery once again.