Lando Norris’ first F1 world title a reward for his consistency

Abu Dhabi: When the Formula 1 bandwagon left Zandvoort following the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, Lando Norris was in despair as he saw his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri build up a formidable 34-point lead in the Formula 1 world championship. It seemed a mountain to climb for the 26-year-old British driver in the last 9 races of the season, as his calm, metronomic teammate won 7 out of the 15 races. Nothing seemed to faze the Australian, and a three-win streak in Bahrain, Jeddah and Miami suggested the title was his to lose.

For Norris, this was a painful period. Unlike Piastri, he wore his heart on his sleeve, publicly berating himself for the slightest error as he sought perfection, even though he had won 5 races during that period.

The McLaren car was by far the fastest on the grid and only Red Bull’s Max Verstappen seemed capable of putting up a fight. The Dutchman was, however, 104 points behind Piastri after Zandvoort and was all but ready to throw in the towel.

Then the unexpected happened.

The weight of expectation as 'champion-in-waiting' appeared to play mind games in Piastri's head.

He suffered an opening lap crash in Baku after a "silly error" as the air of invincibility appeared to desert the young Aussie.

McLaren wrapped up their second successive constructors' title in Singapore but that feat was overshadowed as the friendly but feisty relationship between their two drivers boiled over, sparks flying on the streets of Singapore as the dueling duo collided wheel-to-wheel.

"So are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way there?" Piastri complained.

Norris eventually regained his composure and the championship lead by one point for the first time since April in Mexico, followed by a perfect sprint/race from pole performance in Brazil.

And from thereon, the title race completely unraveled for the 24-year-old Australian, as he had the mortification of then seeing Verstappen first equal him in Las Vegas and then go past him in Qatar to make it a three-way championship battle in Abu Dhabi.

For Norris, the only reason he could still take a healthy 12 points lead heading into the season-finale in Abu Dhabi, despite Verstappen’s late-season resurgence, was the fact that he managed to finish on the podium in 17 of the 23 races till then, an almost 75 per cent conversion rate.

And after his 18^th podium finish in Abu Dhabi, alongside his 7 race wins – Piastri finished with 7 wins and 16 podiums and Verstappen with 8 wins and 15 podiums – an emotional Norris said: "It's incredible. Pretty surreal. I dreamed of this for a long, long time – everyone does – and a lot goes into a season like this. A lot of ups, a lot of downs, but none of that matters if you try to come out on top.”

He added: "I've not cried in a while and I didn't think I would cry, but I did. It's a long journey and first I want to say a big thanks to my guys, everyone at McLaren, and my parents.

"They are the ones who have supported me since the beginning. I mean it feels amazing. I now know what Max feels like! I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two biggest competitors the whole season."

At the rain-soaked Brazilian Grand Prix last season, a fast-closing Norris skidded on the wet track and veered out of title contention. On a cool and dry night in Abu Dhabi yesterday, the only skidding he did was after the race, performing donuts to celebrate his first world championship.