A visibly emotional Lando Norris reflected on his nine-year-long journey with McLaren as he won his maiden Formula 1 title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen cruised to three consecutive wins at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday evening, but it wasn’t enough to deny Norris his first-ever F1 title.
The McLaren driver took the chequered flag in third, and stole the four-time World Champion’s crown by two points after 24 gruelling rounds this season.
“Oh god, I’ve not cried in a while,” were his first words as World Champion in parc ferme.
“I didn’t think I’d cry but I did. It’s a long journey; it’s a long journey. First of all, I want to say a big thanks to my guys, everyone at McLaren, my parents.
“I’m not crying. Yeah, my mom, my dad. You know, they’re the ones who supported me since the beginning, so. I look like a loser.”
The 26-year-old was signed up to the McLaren young driver program in 2017 and made his F1 debut with the Woking-based squad in 2019.
Reflecting on this journey, a visibly emotional Norris added: “I mean, look, it’s been a long journey with me and McLaren.
“I’ve been with them for like nine years and we’ve been through plenty of crazy difficult times and plenty of good times.”
“So, for me to feel like I can bring something back to them, you know, it’s their first Drivers’ [title] in many, many years.
“I feel like I did my part for the team this year and I’m very proud of myself for that but I’m even more proud for everyone that I’ve hopefully made cry.”
Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri headed the championship for 15 consecutive rounds prior to Norris taking the lead once again in Mexico.
Verstappen, on the other hand, piled on a resurgent and relentless comeback since the summer shutdown to close down a 104-point deficit.
Wins at Monza, Baku, Austin, Las Vegas, and Qatar saw the 28-year-old close his gap to Norris to just 12 points heading into this race weekend.
“I now know what Max feels like a little bit and I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two biggest competitors the whole season,” added Norris.
“It’s been a pleasure to race against both of them. It’s been an honour. I’ve learned a lot from both of them as well, so I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a long year but we did it.
“We did it and I’m so proud of everyone. It’s been an incredible season.”
Norris ‘didn’t care’ about Red Bull’s tactics at the Abu Dhabi GP
Norris lost a place to Piastri on the opening lap and was then hounded by Charles Leclerc. It was critical for Norris to retain at least third to seal the championship.
Sensing an opportunity, Red Bull instructed Yuki Tsunoda, who had extended his first stint on the Hard tyre, to hold up Norris and back him into the Ferrari driver.
This saw Tsunoda weave on the back straight into Turn 6, pushing Norris off the track. But as the Briton made the move, he did so with all four wheels off the track.
Both Norris and Tsunoda were then under investigation, with the former getting a five-second time penalty for his troubles.
“I had no idea. I didn’t care. I mean, I knew what I did was fine so I had nothing to worry about,” insisted the 26-year-old.
“I was just trying to enjoy the moment, you know.
“There’s not many people in the world, not many people in Formula 1 ever get to experience what I’ve experienced this season and this year, so I’m happy for everyone.
“I’m happy for everyone more than me, but I’m just crazy happy.”
Despite needing only third, Norris revealed that he was pushing in his MCL39 right to the end – finally achieving his 16-year-long dream of winning the biggest prize.
“I just knew it’s a long race. At the very end, you know, anything we see many times, anything can happen,” he recollected.
” I just kept pushing until the last two or three laps. I could ease it off a bit but I still wanted to fight to the end and that’s what we did.
“That’s what we had to do this season, you know, for Max chasing us the whole way, for Oscar catching up again at the end. They certainly didn’t make my life easy this year, but yeah, I’m happy.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen wins Abu Dhabi GP, Lando Norris third to seal F1 title
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