The leading figure in the Formula 1 field has changed: after many years of Max Verstappen's dominance, the world champion's crown is heading to Lando Norris. The Briton has become the 35th title holder in the history of the series, bringing an end to an era in which, since 2016, only Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen had won the championship. For McLaren this is a victory of historic proportions: in Woking they are celebrating a drivers' title for the first time since 2008, and the "golden double" – the drivers' championship and the Constructors' Championship – had not been achieved by the team since 1998.
Seven Seasons in One Garage
Norris arrived in Formula 1 as a talented young driver, but his road to the top stretched over seven seasons – exactly the same amount of time once needed by Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen. Only a handful of drivers in history have taken longer to reach the title. Crucially, Lando completed this entire journey with a single team: no transfers, just McLaren's orange race suit. At the Qatar Grand Prix he broke David Coulthard's record for most starts with the team, and making 151 race appearances with his first outfit has become a unique achievement in championship history.
In recent decades only Lewis Hamilton and Jacques Villeneuve managed to win titles with the teams where they made their debuts, and both did so in their second seasons. Norris, by contrast, spent years riding through the highs and lows with McLaren: periods of battling for podiums, tough campaigns where he had to fight for scraps of points, and stretches when he slumped to the very back of the grid, as at the start of 2023. He only climbed onto the top step of the podium for the first time last year – and it was precisely that long-term commitment to joint development that ultimately paid off to the fullest.
The 2024 Season as the Foundation of a Title
For many, the 2024 season looked like an opportunity for Lando to get closer to the title, but not much more: at that time Verstappen was controlling the championship with ease, and Norris was only just learning how to live as a constant podium contender. That is why his victory in Abu Dhabi proved especially valuable; it not only wrapped up the year on a high note and brought McLaren their first Constructors' Championship since 1998, but also gave Lando a real taste of fighting for major goals. He entered 2025 no longer simply as a "promising" driver, but as a mature leader of the project.
McLaren started the new season as the favorite: testing and the opening races pointed to a significant advantage. Lando opened the year with a win in Australia and, for the first time in his career, led the overall Formula 1 standings. But staying on top did not prove straightforward – Oscar Piastri seized the initiative, increased his pace and, with mistake-free and consistent performances, began to collect a solid haul of points. In the previous two seasons the Australian had clearly lagged behind his team-mate, but the balance of power suddenly shifted.
Duel With Piastri and the Return of Red Bull
From a technical standpoint, the turning point for Norris was the updated MCL39 suspension: it allowed him to feel confident in the car's behavior even at the limit. But even that could not fully protect his title ambitions from some heavy blows. Two retirements, including a disastrous weekend in Canada, seriously complicated the situation. In Montreal Lando was clearly faster than Piastri on raw pace, but he made a mistake in qualifying and then, in the race, overdid the risk while attacking his team-mate – and ended up in the wall.
Even so, Norris gradually closed in on Oscar – at that moment he had three wins in four races against a single victory for the championship leader. However, in the Netherlands technical problems took center stage, and the gap ballooned back out to 34 points. It looked as if yet another chance was slipping away. But the next European round in Monza became a genuine watershed: Lando not only maintained his speed, he added iron composure, while Piastri, by contrast, began making more and more mistakes as he tried to stay ahead at any cost.
In just six races, minus 34 turned into plus 24 in Norris' favor. It was at this moment that Max Verstappen re-entered the picture: the revamped Red Bull suddenly returned to a level where it could once again fight for victories on almost every circuit. McLaren's dominance turned out to be far less absolute than it had appeared in the spring.
Mexico City, São Paulo, Las Vegas: Swings Before the Finale
Lando's exemplary weekends in Mexico City and São Paulo – two pole positions, race victories, a sprint win and the maximum possible points – slowed Verstappen's charge somewhat. A second place in Las Vegas could have turned the final part of the season into a mere formality: Norris would have gone into the closing stretch with a comfortable cushion of around 30 points over Piastri and 42 over Verstappen.
Instead of a calm conclusion, however, came a heavy blow: both McLarens were disqualified from the results due to excessive plank wear on the car's floor. In an instant, the safety buffer evaporated and the championship finale turned into a nerve-wracking battle in which a single mistake could ruin an entire year.
That is why Norris' ability to withstand the pressure in exactly these circumstances is even more valuable. A team-mate who had seemed unbeatable in the first half of the season, a resurgent Red Bull, ultra-tight qualifying battles at almost every round, technical issues and the shadow of that notorious disqualification – all of this followed him along the road to the title right up to the finish line.
From Self-Doubt to Champion: The Birth of a Mature Leader
Norris was often criticized for his gentle character, his excessive self-criticism and a perceived lack of aggression. Yet the very traits that were seen as weaknesses eventually became his main strengths. His careful attitude toward his own mistakes, his readiness to admit when he was wrong and to work on those errors step by step lifted Lando to an entirely new level. The experience he gained from hard-fought duels with Verstappen in 2024 also fell on fertile ground: he learned to control his emotions and to make decisions like a driver playing the long game.
This hard-earned title suits a driver who collected a record 15 podiums before his first win and who had to break through a chain of errors and bad luck on the way to his Miami 2024 triumph. Just a year and a half ago people were jokingly calling him "Lando NoWins", yet today his name is engraved on the list of Formula 1 world champions.
Norris' new status is not only a personal triumph for the driver, but also a symbol of McLaren's return to the top. A team that spent years oscillating between hope and disappointment has once again become one of the reference points on the grid. And now the main question is this: will this title mark the beginning of a new orange dynasty – or remain a single, albeit incredibly bright, flash in the career of a driver who once stepped out of the shadows and claimed the number one for himself?
