Lando Norris has issued a clarion call to both himself and McLaren: make winning races easier in 2025. After coming tantalizingly close to clinching the Drivers’ Championship last season, Norris is determined to smooth out the bumps that allowed Max Verstappen to retain the crown and seal his fourth title.
Despite McLaren securing its first Constructors’ Championship since 1998, Norris admits the team’s journey to glory in 2024 was anything but straightforward. Reflecting on a season filled with strategic blunders, driver errors, and moments of brilliance, Norris has set his sights on a more dominant and calculated campaign this year.
“We Want to Win Without the Drama”
McLaren’s turnaround in 2024 began with upgrades that transformed the MCL38 into the car to beat. Norris’ first career victory in Miami signaled the team’s resurgence, yet it was often Verstappen’s relentless consistency that kept the Dutchman ahead in the title race.
Now, Norris believes McLaren needs to remove the chaos from their victories. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in partnership with McLaren sponsor Mastercard, the Briton candidly admitted, “One thing we’ve realized as a team is that now we’re there [at the front], we need to make it easier for ourselves. We want to win races without them being as difficult as last year.”
Norris’ frustrations were amplified as mistakes—both on track and off—gifted Verstappen a mid-season buffer that proved insurmountable despite McLaren’s late-season charge.
The Quest for Personal Glory
While McLaren savored the Constructors’ title, Norris remains laser-focused on his personal ambitions. The 24-year-old openly admitted that “the selfish one”—the Drivers’ Championship—remains his ultimate goal.
“I came close-ish last year. I could smell it. I had that feeling of like, ‘okay, this is kind of what it’s like,’” he explained. “Now I need to fix a few things, work on some things, and come back stronger.”
With McLaren’s newfound dominance, Norris knows the spotlight—and the pressure—will be on him to deliver. The battle-tested Brit says he’s more motivated than ever: “For myself, as much as I want to win the Constructors every year, I also want the Drivers’ Championship. You need a good team behind you, and I think that’s exactly what I’ve got.”
Verstappen: The Target on His Back
Max Verstappen enters the 2025 season as the reigning champion, but Norris and McLaren are gunning for him. Verstappen’s mid-season struggles in 2024 revealed cracks in Red Bull’s dominance, but his ability to capitalize on McLaren’s missteps proved decisive.
Norris praised McLaren’s response to their near-miss, emphasizing the team’s refusal to rest on its laurels. “It was easy for all of them to say, ‘we’re good, we’ve done it now, let’s relax,’” Norris said. “But they’ve done the opposite. They’ve worked even harder to try and find new things for this year.”
2025: A Battle of Titans
With McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull all trading wins in the final stretch of 2024, the stage is set for a thrilling three-way fight in 2025. McLaren’s continued progress could make Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri the duo to beat, but Verstappen has no intention of relinquishing his crown without a fight.
The key to McLaren’s title ambitions lies in eliminating costly mistakes and maintaining consistent performance throughout the season. For Norris, 2025 represents not just a chance to win but to dominate—a challenge he’s ready to embrace.
The Road Ahead
As Norris eyes his first Drivers’ Championship and McLaren pushes for back-to-back Constructors’ titles, the stakes have never been higher. Whether McLaren can streamline their victories and dethrone Verstappen remains the question on everyone’s mind. One thing is certain: Lando Norris is no longer content with simply competing—he’s ready to conquer.