Three weeks after the champagne dried in Abu Dhabi and the reality of a first Formula 1 world title began to sink in, Lando Norris has had time to reflect on a 2025 season that delivered everything at once.
And with the perspective that only hindsight (and a gold trophy) can provide, the newly crowned champion has reached a typically Norris conclusion: it’s all “downhill from here.”
Norris didn’t just win a championship in 2025 – he completed what sounds suspiciously like a childhood wish list. Victory at Monaco? Check. A home win at Silverstone? Absolutely. World champion? By two points, because of course it had to be dramatic.
Third place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was enough to edge out Max Verstappen in the standings, with Oscar Piastri completing the top three overall. Calm on paper, chaos in reality.
Looking back in an interview with BBC Sport on a season that delivered just about everything at once, Norris summed it up with a grin:
“They're really the best runs,” Norris said of his British Grand Prix, Monaco Grand Prix and championship wins. “Just downhill from here,” he added with a smile.
The man waited years for this moment – and immediately joked himself into retirement.
While Norris admitted he wouldn’t mind wrapping things up earlier next time, he also acknowledged that white-knuckle finales come with a certain charm—especially if you’re the one who survives them.
“I would have loved to make my life a bit easier, winning earlier next time. But it's always more exciting when it goes down to the final race, final few laps. It's more exciting for everyone, for you guys, most of all.
“But I won ones that people have dreamt of winning. They are some of the most incredible ones.”
Among those dream victories, Monaco stood out—not just for the prestige, but for what it unlocked emotionally.
“The lap I did in Monaco in quali was the only other time probably in the last 10 years that I cried a little bit over something. Because there I proved myself wrong.”
That Monaco qualifying lap wasn’t just fast – it was transformative. Norris arrived carrying doubts after a rough run of form, questioning the very skillset that had defined him.
“I had that bad run of results, I just couldn't perform in qualifying,” he recalled.
“Qualifying has always been my strong suit. So, when I went to the hardest track to do a qualifying lap in, I turned off my delta for the first time that weekend so I couldn't see if I was on a better lap, worse lap, whatever it was, it's not been my best track in the past.”
No reference points. No safety net. Just commitment.
“For me to then go there and put that lap I put in at the end of qualifying was one of the best moments of my career in a way because it was the time I almost doubted myself the most ever.”
What followed was a mental reset in real time.
“But that one lap, 1 minute 9 seconds, was all it needed for me to flip everything and turn that thought of I just don't know if I got this to, oh, I can definitely do this,” he said.
“And that was a pivotal moment for me.”
Downhill from here? Maybe. But if this is Norris at the summit – self-aware, sharp, and still laughing – it’s hard to imagine the descent being anything less than entertaining.
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