Reigning F1 World Champion Lando Norris is one of the many success stories that F2 has produced in its last ten years as a championship. Although the Briton did not win the title during his 2018 campaign, Norris has gone on to achieve major success beyond his time in F2.
On his way to F1, the 26 year-old enjoyed a highly successful junior career. After securing his maiden title last year, Norris made history and became the first-ever F2 graduate to win a World Championship. Despite it being eight years since he competed in the series, he fondly reflected on his time in F2 and explained how the championship has become an important stepping stone for talent.
A championship that prepares you for the world of F1
Like Norris, many drivers from the 2018 F2 season have gone on to achieve success across the industry, with several venturing into endurance racing and GT categories. However, two of his main title rivals from that year continue to race alongside him in F1: George Russell, who claimed the title that year, and Alex Albon, who finished third behind Norris.
“I mean, you learn something new in every category that you do. So I was against some incredible drivers, a few of them I’m still racing against today.”
“Just by driving against those drivers when most drivers come from Formula 2 – when you’re in that category, you’re racing some of the best in the world already.”
“Some will go on to be World Champions and win races in F1. So, you’re racing already against a pedigree that is pretty incredible, and you have to perform at a high level yourself if you want to do well.”
Following successful campaigns in F2, all three earned well-deserved promotions to F1 in 2019. Reflecting on how F2 prepares drivers for the step up to F1, he highlighted the importance of learning how to perform under pressure.
“You also go to a lot of the race tracks that Formula 1 goes to, and that’s something that’s very important. You get a good amount of track time in terms of races and qualifying sessions, so you get opportunities to try and learn how to drive under pressure, which again, is very important.”
“Almost every situation that you get in Formula 1, you’re already learning how to deal with in F2, and that’s the important thing.”
Norris’ words of wisdom for the 2026 grid
With seven years of F1 experience now under his belt, the Briton has become an 11-time race winner and secured 45 podium finishes since making his debut in 2019.
When asked about what advice he would give to the 2026 F2 grid, Norris said: “Probably just to not try and do anything overly excessive in that you think you have to impress someone. For some people it might take one year, for some it might take three years. There’s no point trying to rush things trying to know everything there and then.”
“The important thing is to not do anything where you’re feeling like you have to impress all of a sudden on a big scale in front of F1 teams and things like that.”
“You just try to maximise what you already know, do what you can do yourself and learn as much as possible.”
The reigning F1 World Champion reflects on his time in F2 with Carlin
Norris’ 2018 F2 campaign saw him storm to victory at the season opener in Bahrain, while also securing eight additional podium finishes that year. Reflecting on his time in the championship, Norris highlighted his battles with Russell and Albon as some of the most memorable moments that still stay with him today.
“I don’t know. There’s a lot of incredible moments that I had in F2. A lot of fun battles with George in Monza and things like that. I don’t know what my absolute favourite would be… I think starting the season off the way that we did was pretty good. Otherwise, there’s just a lot of fun races that I had like in Monza or Abu Dhabi. I enjoyed racing against George and Alex.”
On top of that, continuing his relationship with Carlin, a team he had worked with multiple times throughout his junior career, brought a sense of familiarity that made him feel at home.
He added: “Off track, I was with Carlin so for me, I did another year with Carlin and a lot of people I knew for many years. We always enjoyed a lot of moments together, and you learn a lot already about engineering and how to set up a car, how to go through data which is always important.”
Norris: “It was very special” to be the first F2 graduate to become World Champion
In recent years, we have seen many drivers take the step up to F1 after ther time in the championship. Most notably, Arvid Lindblad is the most recent addition to that list, joining a wave of drivers who stepped up in 2025, including Ollie Bearman, Kimi Antonelli, Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar.
Being the first F2 graduate to become a F1 World Champion, Norris spoke about the honour of holding that achievement.
He said: “It was very special to look back on and hear about these things. I guess you don’t really think about it at the time but having your name written down somewhere, especially for a good reason, is something to be very proud about. So I was happy I was that first one, and the first of what will be many.”
