Lando Norris heads into the brand new technical rules because the reigning world champion.
Lando Norris is now an F1 world champion (Picture: Getty)
Lando Norris has expressed his want for an ‘further stage of respect’ after changing into the F1 world champion on the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi. The 26-year-old Brit beat Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri to clinch the crown in a tense three-way combat that went right down to the wire.
Now, Norris faces a frightening problem as he appears to defend his crown. With the technical rules overhauled through the low season, the MCL40 will look and act wildly completely different to its silverware-winning predecessor, whereas different groups have poured huge assets into the reset.
Nonetheless, whether or not or not the Woking-based squad are in a position to compete for a 3rd consecutive Constructors’ Championship can have no influence on Norris’ confidence, with the Bristol-born driver now cemented within the F1 historical past books as certainly one of simply 35 world champions.
“I hope there’s that little bit further stage of respect that comes from successful the title as a result of the individuals who have achieved it know what it takes,” Norris mentioned, looking forward to the brand new season. “That’s cool, an additional bonus and never one thing I’ve requested for.
“It’s fairly clear I’ve a unique mentality and method to Max, good or dangerous. I’m all the time making an attempt to enhance, and I do know there are areas that I’m not on the stage I should be. If you find yourself preventing these guys, it is advisable to be near perfection. There are nonetheless loads of issues I need to work on and be higher on.
“However I don’t really feel any completely different coming into this season. I need to exit and win and that’s my baseline feeling. But when I don’t obtain it once more, I’ll all the time have one thing that I’m very pleased with, and I do know is a big achievement.
Lando Norris faces a troublesome process to defend his crown (Picture: Getty)
“It definitely hasn’t taken away any ambition or want to need to do it once more or to come back into this season and to not care about it. If something, I loved final 12 months quite a bit and naturally I need to do it once more. I’ve come into this season with the identical ambition and motivation as final 12 months, which is to attempt to win it.”
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If Norris desires to win one other F1 title in 2026, he should beat Mercedes and George Russell, who’ve been put in because the bookmakers’ pre-season favourites after a powerful opening check in Barcelona.
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