The new world champion: “I thank my parents for allowing me to pursue my dream. I have an amazing team, you deserve everything. It’s been a long journey. It was an honor to compete with Max and Oscar.”

“Thank you, guys. Oh my God, you’ve made my childhood dream come true. Thank you so much, I love you guys. You deserve everything. I love you, Dad, I love you, Mom. Thank you for everything. I’m not crying…” These were the words that an emotional Lando Norris said over the radio seconds after becoming world champion. He had to suffer until the last race, resisting Max Verstappen’s (Grand Prix winner) attempt to catch up, but in the end, the British McLaren driver managed to win by two points and claim his first world title. After venting on the radio and hugging his loved ones as soon as he got out of the car, the Englishman also appeared very emotional in his post-race interview with David Coulthard: “Oh God. I haven’t cried in a long time. It’s been a long, long journey. First of all, I want to thank everyone on the team, my parents. I’m not crying (he says laughing, ed.). I want to thank my parents, they are the ones who have supported me from the beginning. I look like a loser right now… (still laughing, ed.).“ And then, from the podium: ”I’ve had a surreal year, with many ups and downs. You try to achieve something and you succeed, it’s incredible. Thanks to the team, my family, and my girlfriend, who have suffered with me over the last few days. I am proud to have played a part in F1 history, and I am grateful to my mom and dad for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dream.”
Speaking to Formula 1, Norris immediately congratulated his rivals: “It’s a fantastic feeling (to be champion, ed.). Now I know a little bit how Max feels. I want to congratulate him and Oscar, my rivals throughout the season. It has been an honor to race against them, I have also learned a lot from them. It’s been a long year, but we did it. I’m very proud of everyone.“ The world champion then commented on today’s race in Abu Dhabi, which he finished in third place, the minimum position he needed to secure the championship: ”I thought about the title a bit today, you can’t help it. The race was very long, and we knew that. We know that anything can happen in F1. I kept pushing until the last two or three laps, then I eased off a little. I wanted to fight until the end, as we did throughout the season with Max trying to catch up until the very end and Oscar recovering a few points in the last few races. They certainly didn’t make life easy for me.”