Now that we are halfway through the 2026 Formula 1 season, let’s take a look back at the man who entered this season as the reigning World Champion: LN1, Lando Norris.
For years, Lando was viewed as a talented driver who just couldn’t quite get over the hump.
The talent was obvious. The speed was obvious. But that didn’t stop people from mocking him with the nickname “Lando No Wins.”
Well, you could throw that garbage nickname away in Miami in 2024.
Norris finally captured his first Formula 1 victory at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix and never looked back. He followed it up with victories in the Netherlands, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, helping McLaren secure the Constructors’ Championship.
He fell short of Max Verstappen in the 2024 Drivers’ Championship, but something had clearly changed.
Lando Norris now knew he could win.
And in 2025, he came out swinging.
Norris won the opening race of the season in Australia, immediately putting the rest of the grid on notice. It was also the first Grand Prix as a full time McLaren driver for his teammate and eventual championship rival Oscar Piastri in a season where their battle would become one of the biggest stories in Formula 1.
Piastri eventually took control of the championship lead, but Norris never allowed the title to completely get away from him.
After a disappointing fourth place finish in Saudi Arabia, Norris continued stacking podiums before delivering one of the biggest victories of his career in Monaco.
But then came Canada.
Norris crashed into the back of Piastri while the two McLarens battled late in the race, ending his own Grand Prix. It was exactly the kind of mistake critics had been waiting for.
The questions immediately returned.
Could Lando actually handle the pressure of a World Championship fight?
Could he beat his teammate when everything was on the line?
Was he mentally strong enough to become World Champion?
Lando answered those questions the best way possible.
He started winning.
Norris came back and won in Austria before doing something every British Formula 1 driver dreams about: winning his home Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Back to back victories.
Then he added another win in Hungary.
But a championship season is never perfect.
At the Dutch Grand Prix, Norris suffered a heartbreaking mechanical retirement while running second. The image of him sitting on the hill overlooking Zandvoort after climbing out of his McLaren perfectly captured the moment.
His championship hopes had taken another massive hit.
Once again, he had every reason to believe the title was slipping away.
Once again, he kept going.
Through the second half of the season, Norris continued collecting points and keeping himself alive in the championship fight. Then came Mexico.
Norris dominated the Mexican Grand Prix and reclaimed the championship lead with a commanding victory.
One race later in Brazil, he won again.
At exactly the point in the season when the pressure was at its highest, Lando Norris delivered consecutive victories and put himself in control of his own destiny.
But Formula 1 wasn’t going to make his first championship easy.
Las Vegas completely changed the picture.
Norris originally finished second, but both McLaren cars were disqualified after post race inspection found excessive skid wear. Norris lost 18 points and Max Verstappen suddenly found himself right back in the championship fight.
And Verstappen had already produced an unbelievable comeback.
After the Dutch Grand Prix, Max had been 104 points behind the championship leader. By the time Formula 1 arrived in Abu Dhabi, he was only 12 points behind Norris.
Everything Lando had worked for came down to one final race.
He didn’t need to be spectacular.
He didn’t need to win.
He just needed to finish the job.
And that’s exactly what he did.
Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but Norris brought his McLaren home in third place.
That was enough.
Lando Norris was the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion.
After an entire season of pressure, mistakes, criticism, mechanical heartbreak and one of the greatest late season championship charges we have ever seen from Verstappen, Norris held on and won the title by just two points.
And naturally, the excuses came.
“He had the fastest car.”
Well… duh.
Formula 1 has always been a combination of driver and machinery. Great drivers need great cars to win championships. Having a championship caliber car doesn’t automatically make you World Champion. You still have to deliver across an entire season while another elite driver sits in the other garage with essentially the same opportunity.
Oscar Piastri won seven races himself in 2025.
So did Lando Norris.
Norris had opportunities to fold.
He could have folded after Canada.
He could have folded after his retirement in the Netherlands.
He could have folded when Verstappen began eating away at the championship advantage.
He could have folded after the Las Vegas disqualification turned what looked like a comfortable championship position into another fight.
He never did.
Instead, he dug deep and grabbed the prize he had been chasing since he was a kid racing karts.
The guy who spent years hearing “Lando No Wins” became Lando Norris, Formula 1 World Champion.
Nobody can ever take that away from him.
A well deserved champion.
And if you ask me, I don’t believe 2025 will be the last time we see Lando Norris lift that trophy.
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