It’s a Tuesday afternoon at the McLaren Technology Centre and Lando Norris bounds into the studio for his first interview of the year. After six hours of marketing commitments he’s still energetic, shaking hands and chatting about winter holidays before settling in. He’s clearly still riding high after achieving his lifelong dream of winning the World Championship.
We start by revisiting the predictions he made for 2025: stand up for yourself, enjoy life, do more for others, win the Drivers’ Championship, and win the Constructors’ Championship. Each one earned a tick. Having achieved so much on and off track, how does he top that? “That’s tough!” he laughs. “Of course, the goal is exactly the same, but it never gets easier, especially with the rules changing… [The plan is] to do the same, simple. Try and déjà vu the whole year and just let it all happen again! That’s my goal. That’s the team’s goal.”
Defeating Max Verstappen and team-mate Oscar Piastri last year put Norris among the 35 people crowned F1 World Champion since 1950. He admits the title still feels odd: “It’s been my whole life… now it’s done and I’m trying to do it again. I still find it odd, but it’s easily one of the coolest things ever when people say that and you see the number [1 on the car] because it’s a genuine thing now.” Hearing others acknowledge it helps it settle in: “When someone says it, I’m just like, oh, that’s, it’s a real thing.”
The winter break was low-key — time with friends and family, feeling “recharged” and “relaxed.” Back in Monaco he found the box with his World Championship trophy and put it in his hallway next to his Miami winner’s trophy. Seeing the two trophies when he walks in reminds him of “two of the biggest moments” of his career. He reflects on looking up to names like Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, and past McLaren greats such as Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna: “To see my name alongside some of them is… a beautiful thing.”
‘Last year I proved to myself that I have what it takes’ — that achievement has boosted his confidence and mental resilience. Having been his own harshest critic, Norris says proving it on track removed a lot of doubt. “I feel more relaxed… Last year I proved to myself that I have what it takes. I’ve always had to do it to make myself believe it… Every time I might have a bad day or bad weekend at the track, I can [say to myself] ‘I did it last year and I proved to myself that I can do it’. So I don’t need to question myself anymore and that’s a great thing.”
Confidence matters in F1 and he feels that steadiness now underpins his approach. Back at McLaren he sees the same faces and the same determination to repeat the success: “It’s déjà vu in a way… underground, like the underlying feeling is you kind of forget about it and you’re like, I have to go and do it again.”
But repeating a title is a steep challenge — only 11 drivers have defended successfully. This season brings sweeping chassis and power unit regulation changes, so the pecking order is unclear. Norris had his first taste of the new MCL40 at Barcelona’s shakedown, a session intended to get systems working rather than chase performance. He says it’s “still early days” and that cold conditions in Barcelona make tyre and car behaviour different from what they’ll see in Bahrain for official testing. The test revealed niggles to fix, which was its purpose: “We’ve got time to try and iron them out and improve on things.”
He trusts the team that won the last two World Championships and says he’s not lacking confidence they’ll be competitive: “Whether it’s going to be first, second, third, fourth, I have no idea… I think that’s also something I’ve learned, is to just have no expectation anymore. No point, it causes too much stress… So yeah, we’re in a good place. We need to improve on many things, but at the same time, we’re a long way up before the first race still so we have to be patient.”
Oscar Piastri remains a chief rival. The Australian led much of last season’s championship before fading late on. Norris and Piastri get along well and have mutual respect despite the pressure-filled dynamic of teammates also battling for honours. “Of course he’s going to try harder than ever to turn things around… and I have to try and raise my game to deal with that because we both made our lives very tough for each other last year,” Norris says. He acknowledges the awkwardness of F1’s team-mate rivalry but trusts the team leadership: “Andrea [Stella] runs things very well and so does Zak [Brown]… I’m excited for more of [the battles] this year.”
In short, Norris returns to the paddock recharged, wearing the confidence that comes from having reached the summit. His goal for 2026 is straightforward: repeat the achievement. With major rule changes, a new car to understand, and fierce internal competition, the task is formidable — but he believes the work ethic and team environment are in place to give them a shot.