After Lewis Hamilton in the 2020 Formula One season, Norris became Britan's most recent world champion. Having contested a year-long battle for the title against McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, Norris clinched the accolade by a two-points margin over the Dutch former champion.

It was customary that after a British driver won their first Formula One championship they would be awarded an MBE or an OBE, as marked more recently by Damon Hill in 1996, Hamilton in 2008 and Jenson Button in 2009, with Hamilton being knighted in 2020 after services in diversity and motorsport.

For Norris it marks yet another sporting impact award missed, after golfer Rory McIlroy swoop in to take the BBC broadcasted Sporting Personality of the Year prize.

Why Norris was left out of the 2025 New Years Honours list is not yet known. Title rival Verstappen, though, was selected as the best driver of the Formula One 2025 season.

Max Verstappen was voted best driver of the season by fellow F1 drivers for the fifth year in a row. He led the year in wins, poles, and laps led, despite often having a less competitive car than McLaren’s MCL39, and finished ahead of new world champion Lando Norris in the poll. George Russell ranked third. Read the full story here.

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