Norris, 25, is known to fans around the world for his affable and upbeat personality. He has an infectious laugh, and behind the gifted racer is someone who knows how to have fun. But over the last year, Norris’ vibe has shifted. The sense of humor hasn’t gone away, but he enters his seventh season in Formula 1 with a seriousness of purpose that was arguably lacking when McLaren was struggling to build a winning car.
For the first time, Norris begins an F1 season knowing he has the machinery to fight for the championship.
Norris’ upside potential for the new season is tantalizing. Red Bull’s dominance ended last year after its car hit a development ceiling, and McLaren made dramatic improvements that led it to constructors’ glory. Preseason testing in Bahrain last month affirmed the papaya-colored team’s strengths — especially its long-run pace, which turned heads and impressed rivals.
“We definitely had a positive long-run pace, and that’s been one of our biggest strengths over the last year and a half,” Norris said. “So we’re definitely hoping to continue that this season, because that’s where the points are in the race. So that’s a good thing for us, but there’s no point guessing too much after just a test.”
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He’s expecting a battle in 2025 among four teams capable of winning races, including a Ferrari car he said is showing “high potential” as it poached seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to drive alongside Charles Leclerc.
“They’ve been able to improve a lot. So I’m expecting them to be a good competition,” Norris said of Ferrari, the second-place team in 2024. “But I expect the same from Mercedes, and I expect Red Bull to also be good. But the form Ferrari had at the end of last year, they were probably our biggest competitors, more so than Red Bull.”
In the interview, Norris also dished on racing in the United States, revealed his favorite American track and offered his thoughts about the grid’s funny drivers and trash-talkers. He gave his takes on Hamilton versus Leclerc in red and which sport he’d compete in besides Formula 1, and he delved into how realistic the F1 2024 PlayStation game is compared with the real-life cockpit.
A 2024 season of highs and lows
For Norris, 2024 was a year of what-ifs. What if McLaren didn’t make costly strategy errors? What if the team prioritized his title bid over teammate Oscar Piastri’s earlier in the season? What if Norris avoided his own slip-ups and converted more opportunities?
The truth is neither Norris nor McLaren expected a championship battle against a generational talent like Verstappen last year. And it turns out they weren’t ready for it. Norris left valuable points on the table. His team let him down at times. And it didn’t help that Verstappen built a 52-point lead in the first five races before McLaren took its winning upgrade package to Miami.
This year, they have no excuses.
“I made mistakes,” Norris said. “You try and learn from them and never let them happen again. But I made a couple last year, which, in hindsight, I would probably look back on and try to alter and change, but I cannot. So it’s more just understanding why I made those decisions. How can I improve on them for this season, and how can I make sure they don’t happen again?”