“This is not my world championship, this is ours,” reckons Norris

Having secured his maiden F1 championship title, McLaren driver Lando Norris reflected on his achievement, paying tribute to his parents who have helped him on his way to achieve his ultimate goal in motorsport.

Starting from the second place on the grid, Lando Norris managed to keep his position at last Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, although his team-mate overtook him later on during the opening lap with a sensational move.

The Australian started on Pirelli’s hard tyres, and stayed out for a long first stint, completing a one-stop strategy while his direct rivals elected to cover the race distance by pitting twice.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc displayed an unexpectedly strong race performance at the Yas Marina Circuit, keeping Norris honest, but the McLaren driver always had something in reserve when the gap started to reduce. The Briton ultimately finished third which was enough for him to fractionally beat Verstappen, sealing his maiden world championship title in Abu Dhabi.

Piastri was unable to put Verstappen under pressure with his one-stop strategy, and slightly struggled with his medium tyres during his long second stint, but it was still enough for him to end a season on a high with a second-place finish.

Having come out on top of a fierce, season-long fight for the championship title, Norris was asked to describe his feelings: “I just laugh. It’s tough to describe. It’s tough to put in words. I mean, I just want to go and spend some time with my team, my engineers, my mom and my dad.

” I don’t know what I’m going to say. So much goes into achieving what we’ve achieved today. You know, from all those years ago when I saw Formula 1 on the TV, when I saw a go-kart for the first time – my memories the last couple laps were really just that.

“They took me back to where it all started because I wouldn’t be here without my parents and the sacrifice they’ve done. My brother and my sisters, the amount of times they text me and I don’t get back to them. You know, just everything. Everything that leads into achieving what we all achieved today.

“And this is not my world championship. This is ours. This is one where I get to say, “Thank you, mom,” and “Thank you, dad.” They’re the ones who sacrificed so much to let me be the lucky boy that I am today – to live my dream, to do what I have loved doing since I was a kid, driving that go-kart for the first time at home. The best memories ever, you know

“And so much goes into it every year. And for the first time, I really get to say thank you to them, to my parents, to my family. And I get to really make them feel like everything they did was worth it. They might have felt like it was worth it after getting to Formula 1 or getting the first win in Miami.”

Having achieved his ultimate goal in motorsport, Norris has paid tribute to his parents and friends, who have supported him “so much through the plenty of tough times.”

“But, you know, the thing that makes me smile every day is making my parents proud, making my friends proud, the people who support me so much through the plenty of tough times I’ve had this year, celebrate the good times that I’ve had this year.

“But I feel like I finally get something to say thank you – not just in words, but in terms of the volume of a championship – that they are just as much a part of as I feel like I go out on track and perform.

“They’re with me through every step of the way. And today, I just get to say thank you to all of them. I get to make them smile. And that’s all I really want in my life is all of them to be happy and to get to celebrate. And that’s what I managed to do for them all today,” concluded the Briton.