The 2025 F1 season marked McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris first title-winning campaign, as he edged out Max Verstappen to the top by a mere two points. In a campaign that displayed remarkable resilience and determination, the Briton recorded 7 victories and 11 additional podiums in 2025. Now, seven years into his F1 career, Norris has fulfilled the ultimate ambition of becoming a World Champion.
Reflecting on the sacrifices that has fuelled his success
In motorsport, many drivers and their families have made significant sacrifices in pursuit of the dream of reaching Formula 1 — and, in rare cases, of becoming a World Champion. For Lando Norris, he now joins that exclusive group as the 35th driver to claimed the coveted title.
However, the road to the top demanded immense sacrifice from both him and his family. In a BBC Sport interview, he explained: “First of all, as a family, you want to be together, you want to spend time together. And that’s something we’ve not really done a lot of since I started, when I was like seven, eight years old.
“My dad was taking me everywhere. I spent a lot more time with my dad than I did with my mum. My mum was at home looking after my sisters. So for that whole journey, for all that time away, all the travel, I see my mum 20 days a year maybe, something like that, which is not a lot.”
Reflecting on his personal sacrifices behind his success, Norris admitted that the time spent away from his family was especially difficult for his mother. However, he said reaching Formula 1, winning races, and ultimately securing the title made those years apart feel worthwhile for both him and his family.
“My mum wishes she saw me a lot more. But yeah, for all of those times to kind of finally, she felt like it was already worth it when I got to Formula One and I won a race in Formula One.
“But certainly winning and having the achievement we did yesterday [Monday after Abu Dhabi GP] made everything feel more worth it all those times away.”
Lando Norris: The life-long sacrifices has paid off
“And it’s I think one thing that everyone wants to do is make their parents proud. So the fact I got to do that yesterday, I hope I make them even more proud,” said Norris.
The Briton also briefly highlighted the sacrifices made by his siblings, admitting he’d missed much of their childhood as he worked on chasing his dream. However, despite that, sharing the championship moment with them made it all worthwhile as he described the moment as a collective victory built on a dream they’ve shared together.
Norris added: “So the fact I got to share also with my brother and my sisters, the sacrifices also from them that I don’t feel like I’ve been maybe the older brother that my sisters would have wanted or would have loved quite as much. I’ve not been able to see also them grow up as much.
“But everyone has little sacrifices, different sacrifices along the way in order to achieve their dreams. And I certainly feel like it was all worth it because I still get to have them all there at the end of it, which was yesterday. And we get to celebrate it all together because my dream was their dream and their dream was my dream, all of it together. So it was our win.”
