British McLaren driver Lando Norris on Sunday achieved his first title in the Formula One World Championship for the 2025 season, after coming third in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina Circuit, ending the dominance of Dutchman Max Verstappen after four years. Norris was born on November 13, 1999, to an English father and a Belgian mother.

Published on: 07/12/2025 - 17:15

Briton Lando Norris was able to clinch the drivers' title by coming third in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, behind his Australian colleague Oscar Piastri and Dutchman Max Verstappen in first place.

The journey was bumpy and full of twists and turns, but it ultimately brought McLaren's British driver Lando Norris to his desired destination: the top of Formula One.

Norris succeeded in clinching the drivers' title by coming third in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, behind his Australian colleague Oscar Piastri and Dutchman Max Verstappen in first place.

The young British driver was crowned the World Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career, six years after he entered the world of Formula One racing as a young driver, after finishing second behind his compatriot George Russell in the Formula 2 Championship in 2018.

Norris almost made his way into the top ten in his exciting first season, before he stole the spotlight last season when Dutchman Max Verstappen vigorously contested the title, contributing at the same time to McLaren winning the constructors' title for the first time since 1998.

Norris' ascent to the Formula One throne was not a surprise to the man who first noticed his talent as a child racing karts at the Clay Pigeon track in Dorchester, southwest England.

“It's crazy, isn't it,” Rob Dodds told The Guardian last month.

Dodds added, after watching the young man achieve times much faster than older boys, “It was clear that the boy had something special, and that was when I noticed him for the first time.”

He also said, "Parents usually wait until their children reach 10 or 11 years old to participate in national championships, but Lando has been participating in them since the age of eight."

Norris was born on November 13, 1999, to an English father and a Belgian mother, days after Finn Mika Heikkinen successfully defended his title at the wheel of a McLaren at the Suzuka Circuit.

The British manufacturer had to wait until 2008 to win his next title with another Briton, Lewis Hamilton, before then entering a long period fraught with frustration.

However, joys and victories found their way again to the halls of the Bahrain-backed team, after winning the constructors’ title for two years in a row, before Norris finally won the World Drivers’ Championship title for the thirteenth time in the team’s history, and the first for Britain since Hamilton in 2020.

Competition and fighting spirit

Norris's crowning the title was not just a result of his talent and fighting spirit, but it was also a story related to his fierce competition that brought him together with his teammate, the Australian Oscar Piastri.

Throughout this long and exhausting season, which spanned 24 races and ended in Abu Dhabi, the balance of power wavered between Norris and Piastri. However, in the history of the sport there has never been a more offensive description than the use of the title "teammate" for the latter.

After the amazingly strong return of the four-time world champion, Dutchman Max Verstappen, to compete for the title, this conflict will be remembered as one of the greatest confrontations in history.

It was an action-packed ride that brought back long-awaited enthusiasm for Formula One fans, and tested McLaren's revamped 'Papaya Rules', which allows its talented drivers to compete freely without interference or orders from the team.

Earlier, it seemed that nothing would stand in Piastri’s way, after he achieved three successive victories in Bahrain, Jeddah and Miami, making it seem like he was on his way to winning the title.

This particular period was very painful for Norris.

Unlike Piastri, Norris showed his feelings openly, publicly criticizing himself for the slightest mistake, and striving for perfection.

After the competitions ended in Monaco, Norris was calmer, more detached, and less self-critical, achieving the best time on the track and achieving his first victory in the emirate.

He overcame his tragic exit from the Canadian Grand Prix after a crash with Piastri, achieving victories in Austria, Silverstone and Hungary.

Norris, who loves golf, seemed to have his title ambitions threatened at the Zandvoort circuit, after suffering a breakdown that left him behind Piastri by a large margin of 34 points.

But from then on, it seemed that the expectations placed on him as a potential champion began to play with Piastri's mind.

The Australian was involved in an accident on the opening lap in Baku due to a “silly mistake”, as if the aura of unbeatenness was beginning to fade from Piastri.

The McLaren team won the constructors' title for the second consecutive season in Singapore, but this achievement faded in the shadow of the escalating tension between its drivers, as the relationship between the duo flared up on the streets of Singapore, where a collision occurred in a scene that reflected the intense competition between them.

"So... is it normal for Lando to pick on me like this?" Piastri protested.

Perfect performance and decent lead

Norris finally regained the lead in the title race by one point for the first time since April, at the Mexican Grand Prix. He then followed that up with a perfect performance in Brazil, where he started from pole position and won both the sprint race and the main race.

The dramatic double exit of the McLaren drivers in Las Vegas opened the door to the title competition for Verstappen, who won the Qatar Award and postponed the decision to the final round, where he finished in first place again, but remained behind Norris in the overall standings by two points.

It is noteworthy that Norris, with his beloved personality, was at the forefront of the scene during the remarkable increase in the popularity of Formula One since Liberty Media took over the championship in 2017, and with the great public outburst created by the series “Drive To Survive” on Netflix.

Norris draws some of his inspiration from motorcycle legend and seven-time MotoGP champion, Italian Valentino Rossi.

Norris confirms, "MotoGP was my first passion before Formula 1. Valentino Rossi has always been my role model. He is the best, and he has always inspired me."

Like the Italian legend, Norris carries something of the sparkle of the stars, a twinkle that Dodds first noticed many years ago on the karting track.

"I think he did very well, frankly," he explained.

France 24/AFP

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