Norris bashes media in Verstappen induced post-F1 title clinching rant

19:30, 08 Dec

byNorberto Mujica

Lando Norris emerged as the victor in F1 2025 title race, beating four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

"I hate ever having to try and compare myself to other people. This is all for you guys to decide whether someone’s better than someone else or not."

- Lando Norris.

Lando Norris sealed his maiden F1 title in Abu DhabiPhoto: Race Pictures

However, for Norris, beating Verstappen isn't necessarily the icing on the cake of his maiden F1 championship. "Look. I hate ever having to try and compare myself to other people. This is all for you guys to decide whether someone’s better than someone else or not," Norris said after clinching the title in Abu Dhabi.

"All I try and do every weekend is the best of what I can," he confessed, before making another remakr aimed at the media. "But then you decide he’s better than him, or he’s got a worse car and he’s doing better – write what you like, decide what you like.

"I certainly feel like at moments I've driven better than I feel like other people can. And I feel like I drove at a level I don't think other people can match.

Norris: 'Max drove like a four-time world champion'

"But have I also made my mistakes? Have I made more mistakes than other people at times? Yes. Is there stuff Max could do better at times than me? Yes. Do I believe he's unbeatable? No. But you also don’t know, do you?," Norris added alluding to Red Bull Racing - and Verstappen's - second-half-of-the-season surge, and McLaren's position of having two drivers go head-to-head for the world championship.

Max Verstappen, winner of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and Lando Norris, F1 2025 champion, atop the podium in Yas Marina. Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

"It’s hard to know. Like, they also struggled with the car in the mid part of the season. They’ve had an incredible second half of the season. They took advantage of the fact we had two of us fighting for a world championship. He really made the most of that and Max drove like he is a four-time world champion.

"And I’m very happy that I got to race against him and try to prove myself against him. Whether then you want to write whatever you want to write, against him, against me, or whatever it is, feel free."

Norris 'made his people happy' and that's what counts

Norris then stated that overcoming Verstappen in the championship fight doesn't make it any more sweeter, as his motivation lies elsewhere, striking yet another blow at the media's F1 coverage approach. "But I’m not here - honestly, like I said at the beginning - my motivation is not here to prove I’m better than someone else. That’s not what makes me happy.

Lando Norris and the McLaren fold celebrate winning the F1 2025 Drivers' championship. Photo: RacePictures.

"I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and go, 'I’m so happy because I beat Max.' I honestly, deep down, don’t care about that. I don’t care if every article is, 'Do you think he’s better than me?' or 'Oscar’s better,' or whatever it is. Doesn’t matter. I have no interest in that. I’ve just done what I’ve needed to do to win the world championship. That’s it.

"And I made my people happy. That’s all I really care about at the end of the day. I’m not going to wake up happy tomorrow because I can just go and say to myself, 'I’m world champion.' It might make me smile, but it’s not gonna be the truth. It’s gonna be, 'My mom’s happy. My dad’s happy. My sisters are happy. My brother’s happy. My friends are happy.' And that’s all I need in my life." Norris concluded.

Norris makes it clear to the grid who the F1 champion is

The Bristol-bron driver has stated he will take up number 1 for the F1 2026 season, taking it over from Max Verstappen, after snatching the Drivers' crown in Abu Dhabi. Read his full statements here.

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