Lando Norris has spoken of the positive impact that receiving messages from several fellow athletes – including F1 World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel – had on him through his 2025 title bid.
After heading the Drivers’ Championship standings during the opening stages of the season – following his victory at the first race of the campaign in Australia – Norris lost the lead to McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri following Round 5 in Saudi Arabia.
There were some difficult moments to come for Norris, including a collision with Piastri in Canada that put him out of the race, while a retirement at Zandvoort caused by a mechanical issue set him back in his championship prospects.
However, the Briton embarked on a strong run of form during the second half of the season that saw him retake the lead with a dominant victory at Round 20 in Mexico, before going on to beat Piastri and Max Verstappen to the World Championship at the finale in Abu Dhabi.
Looking back on his title-winning campaign during his first in-depth interview since taking the crown, Norris told F1.com’s Lawrence Barretto about the support and advice he received throughout the season from those who had previously been there before, both in F1 and from other sports.
“I’ve had some great words and great text messages and conversations with some incredible people, people that have won World Championships in different sports, Lewis and others like Seb,” said Norris. “A lot of people don’t know I speak to Seb about things.
“A lot of these people, [former MotoGP champion Casey] Stoner, who, when I needed it most, sent me that little text message and said, ‘think of this, believe in yourself, do this, do that’, and just help me along.”
Norris believes that those words – along with the wider support from those around him – played a role in him clinching his maiden World Championship by two points from closest rival Verstappen.
“When you win the championship by two points, I would certainly say having these moments of faith from others around me got me those two points,” the 26-year-old conceded.
“And therefore, that’s why I’ve got to thank everyone around me because two points is also what you need.”
