New F1 champion Lando Norris says he is proud to have won his first world title by being a fair and honest driver, not by changing his style
ABU DHABI: Newly-crowned Formula One world champion Lando Norris said he was proud to have won his first world title in his own way.
The 26-year-old Briton said that was one of the things that made him most proud.
“I feel like I have just managed to win it the way I wanted to win it, which was not by being someone I’m not,” the McLaren driver said.
He stated he did not try to be as aggressive as Max Verstappen or as forceful as other past champions.
“I’m happy. I just won it my way — by being a fair driver, by trying to be an honest driver.”
Norris admitted he could have been more aggressive at times to gain positions.
He questioned whether that approach aligned with his identity and how he wants to race.
Norris claimed his maiden drivers’ championship to complete McLaren’s first title double since 1998.
He secured it with a perfectly-judged drive to finish third in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Briton finished behind Red Bull’s race winner Max Verstappen and his own McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
A tearful Norris won the title by just two points ahead of Verstappen.
The Dutch driver relinquished his crown after four consecutive years of dominance.
The season-ending race was a tense and emotional affair dominated by strategy and tactics.
The fresh-faced Briton thanked his team, family and friends for their support in his success.
He did so in the self-effacing style that has made him one of Formula One’s most popular drivers.
“I feel proud but not because I’m gonna wake up tomorrow and go, ‘I beat everyone’,” he said.
“I’m not proud because I get to just say I’m a world champion. I’m proud because I feel like I made a lot of other people happy.” – AFP
