Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

How Lando Norris learned to become a world champion from Max Verstappen

19:45, 07 Dec

byBen Hunt

Lando Norris predicted this victory in the F1 drivers’ championship when we discussed it 12 months ago - telling me at the time how he had learned how to win a world championship, thanks to Max Verstappen.

Although the outcome of the 2024 title race was never really in doubt, Norris was the last man standing and, mathematically at least, had taken Verstappen down to the wire - something not done since Lewis Hamilton in 2021 - with the outcome of the title decided at the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi.

When I spoke to him in the McLaren hospitality, he was relaxed and taking comfort from the fact that his 2024 campaign - despite being fruitless - had provided him with the tools he needed to win a championship.

“I learned more about how to win races and how to be in a position of fighting for a championship,” he said at the time.

Norris, 26, is now in his sixth season in F1 and the driver, once dubbed ‘Lando No-wins’, has proven he does have the talent to back up those early predictions.

Norris was unhappy with Verstappen’s comments

Norris talking to Verstappen at the Las Vegas GP - Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Last season’s experiences of fighting with Verstappen at the front had given him a newfound level of confidence. The way the two traded blows in the Austrian GP last season was an important part of his own personal development - learning that he needed to be more aggressive and ruthless in his approach.

He came into 2025 promising to be no more Mr Nice Guy - and we have seen glimpses of that across team radio. He’s hit back at the team on occasions and become more opinionated. More outspoken. Perhaps the biggest change Norris has made this season comes with his mental approach.

Previously, he was excruciatingly hard on himself whenever he made a mistake. It was at times painful to watch as he publicly beat himself up. However, he has been much kinder to himself this season.

After his race-ending mistake in the Canadian GP, where he nearly took out his teammate Oscar Piastri, he admitted the error and— this is the important bit— he quickly moved on. He did not procrastinate. He was able to process and delete the misfortune.

That is a tactic that is used to good effect by Verstappen. The Dutchman rarely admits— publicly at least—that he was at fault. However, whenever he does, he quickly moves on from the setback.

That mental approach is crucial during such a season where the races are restless. But not allowing negativity to permeate his thinking, Norris has been able to recover. Look at the way he came back into the title race when at the halfway stage this season it looked like Piastri was going to coast it.

Norris celebrating his Brazil GP victory after a perfect weekend - Photo: Race Pictures

Norris’s mental strength has been interesting to contrast with Piastri. The Australian had looked icy cool and emotionless, yet his unravelling cost many dropped points and he was not able to recover as quickly as he would have liked. It is all about experience. In the same way Norris would have been able to learn from Verstappen while fighting at the front, Piastri too will have learned a considerable amount from this year’s campaign.

In the end, Norris’s breakthrough season wasn’t defined by the points he lost, the near misses, or even the final showdown in Abu Dhabi.

It was defined by the version of himself he discovered along the way. He learned how to fight without fear, how to recover without dwelling, and how to carry the weight of a title battle without letting it crush him.

That evolution, slow, sometimes painful, but unmistakably real, is what now separates him from the driver he once was. He is no longer the kid who doubted himself, the nearly man, or the polite racer too reluctant to push the limits. He is a champion forged by failure and the harsh lessons dished out by Verstappen over the years.

GPblog's F1 Paddock Update

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.