McLaren’s Lando Norris more confident and gunning for a repeat Formula One title

LONDON – Formula One champion Lando Norris has still not watched back his title-clinching race but the McLaren driver will start the new season with more confidence and hungry for a second crown.

The 26-year-old Briton will race with the No. 1 on his car for the first time at the March 6-8 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

“It’s absolutely the goal, yes,” Norris said when asked about possibly becoming a back-to-back champion and joining seven-time winner Lewis Hamilton as the only Britons to achieve the feat.

“Certainly winning one gives you a lot more confidence,” he added in accepting two trophies at the Autosport Awards in London on Jan 21, one presented to him by thrice champion Jackie Stewart.

“I’ve never been the one to have the most confidence in myself,” he continued, as watching fans shouted “you should” from the balcony. 

“I certainly have more of it now, that’s for sure.”

Norris won seven races last season, one fewer than Red Bull’s four-time champion Max Verstappen, whom he beat by two points after a three-way battle going into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Asked if he had watched back the moment that changed his life, Norris said he had not.

“I’ve honestly tried to be as far away from everything as possible,” he added. “Just enjoy the rest of my life, you know. I love Formula One. I also love being away from it.

“I mean, I’m lucky. It’s an incredible job. I get paid well, and I get to travel with my friends. I get to go play golf in beautiful places. I like to go do those other things, you know.”

Norris said he had reached a point halfway through the season, when his form improved as teammate Oscar Piastri suffered a slump, where he felt he had everything he needed and was confident in his ability to win.

“That first time I really had the belief in myself was last year,” he added. “And it turned out to be the correct thing to have. So that was a beautiful thing too.”

Norris said being champion had made him “probably just a bit happier” in his everyday life but not much had changed otherwise.

The champion will be back in the car next week when teams have a private test in Barcelona before moving to Bahrain for more sessions in February.

“It’s a very different year, there’s a lot more things to think about and prepare for. Simulator (work) started already a week ago. You approach every year as just a new year and prepare in the best way you can,” he told Reuters television.

“It will for sure feel different, more when I step into the car and see the No. 1 at the front. That will put a smile on my face again.”

Meanwhile, Cadillac F1 team principal Graeme Lowdon does not know what to expect when the American outfit make their debut at the Australian GP – but said any team who project to know what lies ahead in 2026 is “just making it up”.

Cadillac are joining as the 11th team for an F1 season that will bring a new wave of regulations. The team have signed a pair of veteran drivers in Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, who drove the 2026 car during a filming day at Silverstone on Jan 16.

“It’s difficult. Success in terms of the Melbourne race – nobody knows that, nobody knows where anybody’s going to finish,” Lowdon said at the Autosport Business Exchange London, reported Motorsport.

“If you ask any team principal at the minute where they think they’ll be competitively, if they give you a relative answer, then they’re just making it up. Nobody knows, which is why the fans tune in.” REUTERS