Dressed to the nines on the Autosport Awards, Lando Norris stepped onto the purple carpet as a Method 1 world champion for the primary time. However whereas it might have been simple for the Briton to wax lyrical about his efficiency this 12 months, as an alternative he mirrored on a second with racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart in 2013.
Norris’s rise on the earth of racing from a younger junior racer to a grand prix winner and, finally, a champion, is effectively documented. However this journey noticed the driving force stand alongside Stewart a decade in the past, with the three-time champion saying on the time that he believed Norris may be part of him within the winner’s circle – one thing he was requested about in entrance of the cameras in the present day.
“I imply, it’s loopy,” he mentioned. “I truly, within the automobile right here, I appeared on the image of me and Jackie again then,” earlier than including with a smile, “I’ve grown a bit greater than what Jackie has.”
He continued: “I don’t know. I believe then it’s so far-off. Like F1 was, what, seven years away from there? And a world championship was what, like 12 years away from that?
“So I simply hold making an attempt, hold believing. I used to be by no means one to overly imagine or give myself an excessive amount of confidence concerning the future. However I stored making an attempt, stored preventing and it turned out.
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Crimson Bull Racing
Picture by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
“So I believe that was the principle factor: hold your head down, hold working exhausting and hope – it does not at all times – however hope that it pays off.”
Norris fought exhausting in opposition to not solely four-time champion Max Verstappen throughout final 12 months’s F1 season, but additionally his personal McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
With robust consistency in the direction of the top of the season, he proved aggressive in his potent equipment. And whereas Verstappen’s efficiency surged within the latter half of the 12 months, Norris stored a relaxed head on his shoulders as he continued to financial institution factors.
A 3rd-place end on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – the final race of the season – confirmed his place within the historical past books, one thing Norris has fought tirelessly for since he joined the championship in 2019.
“ I’ve one thing to struggle for, ?” he mentioned on the upcoming season. “To try to preserve my championship and preserve the quantity that I am gonna have this 12 months.”
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