Carlos Sainz has argued Lando Norris‘ title win in 2025 has quashed the notion that a driver has to be “ruthless or badass” to become a Formula 1 champion.
The now Williams driver was team-mates with Norris during the Briton’s opening two seasons in F1, with their friendship remaining beyond Sainz’s departure.
McLaren has since developed into the benchmark team in the sport, helping Norris to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to a debut championship in Abu Dhabi.
“Honestly, very, very happy for him. I think he’s a great F1 driver,” Sainz told media including Motorsport Week.
“And as much as he’s got criticised a lot during the last few years for being how he is, he’s World Champion.
“And everyone can keep dreaming about being F1 World Champion while he goes about his own way and does things to his own way.
“So I’m extremely happy for him, because he must have felt a lot of pressure over the last few weekends, and he managed to pull it off.”
Sainz says Norris broke championship stereotypes
The Spaniard continued to sing Norris’ praises, citing that the Briton’s success has dismantled several stereotypes surrounding what it takes to become a champion.
According to Sainz, Norris could have easily embraced the ruthless, aggressive mould expected of an F1 champion. However, he didn’t.
In fact, the McLaren driver stayed true to his character, admitting to his own failures during the season, and remained the “nice guy” Sainz got to know back in 2019.
“More than anything, I’m happy for him as a person because he’s a driver that doesn’t follow the typical stereotypes of a world champion,” Sainz added to Sky F1.
“He’s always stayed true to himself, very honest, very open about his own struggles and proven to everyone you can be champion being a nice guy, or don’t have to be ruthless or badass.”
Sainz also stressed that Norris’ title was not a surprise to those who worked alongside him, highlighting that his speed was undeniable amid his humorous image.
“Very happy for him as a driver because he’s always been an extremely quick driver, quicker than what people give him credit for, extremely talented,” he expanded.
“The first years at McLaren, I saw a guy who had the speed to be a multiple World Champion if it was purely down to speed.
“Along the way, he’s developed his skills a lot, and now he’s a World Champion.”
Despite this, Sainz, who scored two podiums in his debut campaign with a rebuilding Williams team, hopes that Norris won’t change despite achieving his dream.
“Happy for him. I hope he stays the same, it doesn’t get in his head that he’s World Champion, and he keeps being himself. Or even if he relaxes more, and can enjoy F1 more.”
READ MORE – How Lando Norris banished past demons to achieve F1 dream
Discussion about this post