Best moments of Lando Norris’ F1 career including first win, podium and more

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Lando Norris is one of the best drivers of his generation and has enjoyed lots of great Formula 1 moments, so F1 Oversteer looks at the Briton’s best including his first win.

The boy from Bristol, who grew up in Glastonbury, has graced the Formula 1 grid since 2019. But Norris was touted for the top long before he reached the pinnacle of motorsport driving for McLaren. Success also arrived in go-karts and continued when he moved to cars in 2014.

It only took Norris until his sophomore season to stand on a Grand Prix podium, as well. The work McLaren conducted through his years with the team to turn their car from a middle-of-the-pack star into a winning machine also helped Norris reach the top step for the first time.

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Norris’ best moments in Formula 1 have also each come for McLaren after graduating to the grid with the Woking natives after spending two years in their driver academy. His spell as a test and reserve driver for McLaren even also saw him enter the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona.

The 2018 season further saw Norris miss out on the Formula 2 title to George Russell after winning FIA Formula 3 European Championship honours in 2017. But, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer takes a look into the best moments of Norris’ career as a Formula 1 driver so far.

The greatest moment of Lando Norris’ career has to be the 2025 Formula 1 season, as he defeated Verstappen and Piastri to win his first drivers’ championship.

Norris won the Australian Grand Prix to open up an early lead over his title rivals, but soon fell behind Piastri after his McLaren teammate won four of the first six races.

A crash in qualifying at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was followed by a shunt between Norris and Piastri in Canada that put his title hopes on the line.

However, three wins in four Grand Prix, including a heroic home victory in front of his own stand at Silverstone, put Norris back in contention, and as Piastri’s form stuttered, Norris closed the gap.

He benefited from McLaren asking Piastri to let him pass after a slow pit stop in Monza, and the team said that clashes in Singapore and Austin even themselves out as Verstappen continued to capitalise.

Norris’ back-to-back wins in Sao Paulo and Mexico City put him within touching distance of his first title, before a disqualification in Las Vegas and McLaren’s strategy error in Qatar meant that the championship was going down to the final day.

Norris required a third-place finish to win the title, and that’s exactly what he delivered, with Verstappen and Piastri joining him on the podium for the final race of the season.

Where did Lando Norris make his Formula 1 debut?

Norris made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. He hit the grid in Melbourne to kick off that campaign as the teammate of Carlos Sainz when McLaren debuted a new line-up having axed Stoffel Vandoorne and said farewell to Fernando Alonso.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

His debut in the pinnacle of motorsport may have come driving for Toro Rosso had McLaren not promoted Norris into a Formula 1 race seat for 2019. Red Bull had agreed on terms with Norris for him to join Toro Rosso until his agent realised that McLaren could have a seat free.

Lando Norris scored his first points in Formula 1 at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix

After finishing his Formula 1 debut in P12 at the 2019 Australian GP, points proved to be up for grabs the next time Norris hit the grid for McLaren at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix after securing a sixth-place finish. He improved from P9 on the grid in Sakhir to score eight points.

Lando Norris took his first podium in Formula 1 at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix

Covid-19 forced Formula 1 to abandon the 2020 Australian Grand Prix and only start its year in July at the Austrian Grand Prix. But the wait for the season to begin would prove worth it for Norris as the McLaren racer sealed his first Formula 1 podium finish at the Red Bull Ring.

Last lap Lando was born in Spielberg as Norris entered the final tour of his 71 chasing down Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes legend had a five-second time penalty hanging over his head after contact with Alex Albon. Will Joseph, Norris’ engineer, talked him through the final lap.

Attacking the final lap of the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix like a qualifying attempt would prove just enough for Norris to secure his first podium in Formula 1 by a mere 0.198 seconds over Hamilton. It even took the McLaren ace right until the last corners to eclipse his compatriot.

When did Lando Norris take his first pole position in Formula 1?

Sochi welcomed Formula 1 from 2014 to 2021 with an annual Russian Grand Prix and it even saw Norris take the first pole position of his career in the pinnacle of motorsport at the 2021 edition. The McLaren star topped the timesheet with a 1:41.993 lap of Sochi’s Olympic Park.

The 2021 Russian GP also almost yielded the first Grand Prix victory of Norris’ F1 career. But a dream day at the Sochi Autodrom turned to disaster as quickly as the heavens opened and McLaren let Norris decide if he wanted to pit or stay on slick tyres as the rain started to fall.

Norris had Hamilton covered for much of the race, with the Mercedes racer only edging into DRS range with six laps left. But when the rain then started to fall, Norris elected to risk it all and stayed out just for the conditions to deteriorate rapidly and see him skittle off the track.

Lando Norris won his first Formula 1 race at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix

Failing to win the 2020 Russian Grand Prix after opting to stay on slick tyres in the rain hung over the Briton for years until Norris finally became a Formula 1 race winner for McLaren at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. He also needed some fortune to reach Victory Lane in the USA.

Norris was not the quickest McLaren driver at Hard Rock Stadium as teammate Oscar Piastri led the papaya squad’s hopes for most of the race. But going long in his first stint meant the Briton benefitted from a safety car and stole the race lead when Norris pitted for fresh tyres.

The safety car picking up net race leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull let Norris move into P1 after contact between Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Williams’ Logan Sargeant left the latter in the barriers at Turn 3. Yet while fortunate, Norris was dominant to run away and win the race.

Verstappen did not have an answer for Norris’ pace on the hard compound Pirelli tyres over the last 24 laps of the Miami GP in 2024. The Dutchman paid the price for picking up a slight bit of damage to his floor after hitting the bollard at the Turn 14-15 chicane on Lap 20 of 57.

Where did Lando Norris win his first F1 Sprint event?

F1 Sprint events have seldom been where Norris shines, with even Piastri beating the Briton to winning the shortened race for McLaren having done so whilst a rookie at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. Norris would also need McLaren to ask Piastri to gift the Briton a first Sprint win.

Amidst the Bristol-born pilot’s very outside shot at winning the 2024 drivers’ championship, McLaren told Piastri to give Norris the Sprint win at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The team had already decided to issue orders favouring Norris and wanted him to get the one extra point.

Piastri strung a surprise to beat Norris to pole position for the Sprint at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix by 0.029 seconds. The Australian’s pace also proved too much for the Briton and he could not mount a legitimate overtake, so McLaren stepped in to boost Norris’ title bid.

Where did Lando Norris take his best win in Formula 1?

His list of Grand Prix victories is not extensive but Norris has secured some dominant wins in Formula 1. No race victory to date also obscures his performance at Marina Bay when Norris won the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix with ease for McLaren by a 20.945-second advantage.

It was even the first time that Norris won directly from pole position having failed to convert four of his first five P1 starts into a race win. The Briton had to overtake Verstappen to claim victory at the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix when the home favourite stole the lead before Turn 1.

Norris would not let Verstappen get another one over him at the 2024 Singapore GP, having also lost out to his rival from Red Bull from pole position at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix. He also lost the lead to McLaren teammate Piastri at the start of the Hungarian GP that season.

Retaining the lead before T1 at Marina Bay meant Norris could bring his tyres into their ideal operating window at his own pace before McLaren let the Briton scupper clear. Verstappen’s pace left him in Norris’ wake, with the latter opening a 22-second lead before their pit stops.

His margin even ensured Norris never lost the lead of the 2024 Singapore GP when he came in on Lap 31 of 62 for new tyres. Only Visa Cash App RB stopping Daniel Ricciardo on L61 to set the fastest lap of the 2024 Singapore GP at his final race denied Norris a Grand Chelem.