I won it my way – Lando Norris emotional after securing F1 title in Abu Dhabi

By Philip Duncan, Press Association F1 Correspondent, Abu Dhabi

An emotional Lando Norris broke down in tears before declaring he did it “my way” after he was crowned champion of the world in Formula One’s season-finale in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The 26-year-old drove into the history books by finishing third at the Yas Marina Circuit, and beating Max Verstappen, who won from pole position, to the title by just two points.

Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri finished runner-up and had to settle for third in the championship race.

Norris was in tears on his in-lap, his voice crackling over the radio, before he left the McLaren which carried him to glory, and shook hands with Verstappen and Piastri and hugged his mother, Cisca, and father, Adam, with his fluorescent crash helmet still on.

“Oh God, I have not cried in a while,” Norris said as he was interviewed on the pit-straight with fireworks lighting up the sky. I didn’t think I would cry but I did.

“It has been a long journey. I look like a loser!”

David Coulthard, a 13-time winner who was conducting the post-race interview, replied: “You look like a winner to me!”

Norris added: “It is incredible and pretty surreal. It has been the last 16 or 17 years of my life chasing this dream and today we did it!

“There have been ups and downs but none of that matters as long as you come out on top. I felt calm until the final three corners, I started to shake a bit. This is a moment I will never forget.”

Norris won the season-opening race in Australia, but endured a poor spell which saw him win just once across the next nine races despite his McLaren team boasting the best car on the grid.

He had been as many as 34 points behind in the title race, and looked to be struggling with the demands of fighting for the championship before dominant victories in Mexico and Brazil put him back in the driving seat.

However, Norris was disqualified from second in Las Vegas for running an illegal car, and finished only fourth in Qatar last weekend after a McLaren strategy fumble allowed Verstappen back into the title hunt.

Norris is McLaren’s first world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. The pair embraced in the television pen with the 40-year-old saying to his younger compatriot: “Massive congratulations. I told you.”

In his subsequent news conference, Norris continued: “It is tough to describe and to put into words. From all those years ago when I first saw Formula One on TV, or drove a go-kart for the first time, my memories of the last couple of laps were about all of that. It took me back to where I started.

“To my mum and dad, they are the ones who have sacrificed so much to let me be the lucky boy that I am today and to live my dream.

“I had tough moments but I believe I won the championship this year my way, by being a fair and honest driver. Could I have been more aggressive and got off the brakes, and had a few people over? I certainly could have done, and maybe I need to do that in the future, but is that me? No.

“If you compare me to all the champions from the past, have I been as aggressive as them? No. Have I been as daring? No, but did I do what I needed to win a world championship and perform under the most pressure and did I come back the way I needed to? I did. What makes me very proud is that I could prove myself wrong.”

A jubilant Norris spoke armed with a fluorescent beverage. Asked if he was sipping on an energy drink, Norris replied: “Hell no, it’s way more!

“This might be my only time. I am confident it’s not going be my only time, but I want to enjoy this moment because not many people will ever get to experience this.

“So I’m going to celebrate. And I really hope my friends have had many drinks already because I want to go and party with them.”