After missing out on the 2024 title to Max Verstappen, McLaren’s Lando Norris goes into the 2025 season as the title favorite. The #4 driver is aware of this and recently joked about it on the Fast and the Curious podcast.
Norris helped McLaren win their first Constructors’ title since 1998 last year and now sees himself as a championship contender. While he knows the pressure that the label puts on his shoulders, he saw the light side of it when informed that the bookmakers have him as the favorite.
“I mean I just did the media session and they’re like ‘Oh the bookies have you at the best odds and stuff. Which is great and I hope people make a load of money off of me as long as they give me a cut,” he said jokingly to the hosts.
“Lando he’s the favourite for next year now to win the championship”
Nico Rosberg is backing Lando Norris to take the Drivers’ Championship in 2025 pic.twitter.com/4do9pddg7q
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) December 10, 2024
But the 25-year-old also reflected on the pressure it has put him under. However, he clarified that it wasn’t just him that was under pressure but the entire team who are now expected to be the benchmark for the entire field.
Norris cites 2024 Abu Dhabi GP to show how ready he is for 2025
Norris went on to reveal that while he is in the cockpit, he doesn’t even have the time to soak in the pressure. Once the visor is down, he only has one target. He cited the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP as the perfect example.
Going into the last race of the season, the Constructors’ title fight had gone right down to the wire between McLaren and Ferrari. At the start, Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri was involved with Max Verstappen in an incident that saw the Australian racing ace tumbling down the order.
This meant that Norris had to win the race to leave the team with any chance of winning the title. And win he did despite Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz hounding him throughout the race.
“I mean, when you’re in the car, you don’t almost have the time to think of these things,” he explained. In fact, Norris was so engrossed in the task at hand that he did not even know where he finished once the chequered flag was waived.
