Lando Norris’ family noticed that he had changed before he won his first F1 title in 2025

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Lando Norris’ life has changed forever after being crowned Formula 1 world champion for McLaren in 2025.

His patience and loyalty paid off, as he punched a one-way ticket to join an elite group of individuals, just 35 of whom have ever won a drivers’ championship.

McLaren gave him just about enough to get the job done, ending a 27-year wait to take both titles back to Woking in the process.

Looking to the future, Norris doesn’t know whether he’ll have a competitive car again in the near future, with the 2026 F1 regulations on the horizon.

Who will be the next driver OUTSIDE McLaren to win an F1 world championship?

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Zak Brown had to remove McLaren’s ‘arrogance’ to get them back on the right track, after years of damaging performances with Honda.

Norris was ‘in the running’ at Ferrari and stayed put with the team that introduced him to the championship. Looking back, it’s one of the best decisions he has ever made.

READ MORE: Oscar Piastri was upset by McLaren’s internal reaction to one of his 2025 crashes

Lee McKenzie says Lando Norris changed after winning the British Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri lacks an ‘essential’ trait to become a champion, and his lack of consistency during the latter half of 2025 really cost him.

But he wasn’t helped by a boost in confidence for teammate Norris after he won his home race. Lee McKenzie detailed the change in her Inside F1 newsletter.

“I don’t think I am breaking confidence when I say even his family noticed a difference in maturity and confidence around Silverstone,” she said.

“Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have said the same thing. Of course, Lando won the British Grand Prix, and it was around then that belief became part of his make-up.”

F1 fans booing Norris was ’embarrassing’, according to Jacques Villeneuve, who felt that criticisms of the Briton were wrong.

But he didn’t let them affect him. Now, he’s about as confident as he has ever been and is riding the highs of his recent successes.

READ MORE: Zak Brown says he sees himself in Lando Norris at McLaren, ‘I wear my heart on the sleeve’

How long is Lando Norris contracted with McLaren for?

McLaren would never sign Max Verstappen, which makes Norris’ job a little safer than George Russell’s is at Mercedes, for example.

But he still has to perform to justify his place in the team. He’ll receive some bonuses for winning the title, but it’s the silverware that matters most to him.

He signed his last extension back in January 2024, which tied him down with McLaren until at least the end of 2027. There’s no confirmation that it stretches to 2028, but it could.

That would give them two years to produce a race-winning car once the new regulations begin, before he potentially makes a call on whether he will remain with them for an 11th consecutive season in 2029.