Lando Norris- the road to success
- therookiereporters
- May 8
- 5 min read
In this article I will be taking a deeper look on Lando Norris' road to success, to see what he has done to get where he is today, and what have made him so successful.
photo credit:f1chronicle.com
How it all started:
Lando Norris is a name that is pretty well known today, he is a Formula 1 driver for McLaren Formula One Team and he has been a part of McLaren all the way since he joined the McLaren Young Drivers Programme back in 2017.
But it did not start there, Lando`s career started already when he was 7 years old and started competitive karting and was at that time a very gifted karter, he is still today the youngest driver ever to set a pole position at a national meeting. Back in 2012 Lando became Formula Karts Stars Champion and runner up in the MSA Super One British Championship.
In 2013 he won more titles, CIK-FIA KFJ European, CIK-FIA KFJ Super Cup, WSK Euro Series KFJ, CIK-FIA International Super Cup and World Karting Championship, he also became WSK Masters Series vice-champion. Lando made history when he became the youngest karting world champion winner, taking the CIK-FIA KF World Championship title at 14 years old, which was earlier held by Lewis Hamilton.
Back in 2016 he won a few single-seater championships- Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and the Toyota Racing Series Championship in New Zealand.
The Start of Lando`s McLaren Journey:
His successful 2016 season resulted in Lando signing with McLaren as a Test and Simulator Driver after winning the 2016 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, and besides this he also stepped up to the European Formula 3 Championship which he won at his first attempt, with the total of nine victories and another 11 podiums from 30 races.
Due to his success in F3 Lando was promoted to Test and Reserve Driver in 2018 and made his F2 debut with the team Carlin Racing, and it was about to be a busy and productive year for Lando as a teenager. He contested in the Daytona 24 Hours with the team United Autosports, which gave him valuable experience in a line-up that did include Fernando Alonso.
The final steps to a F1 seat:
His F2 season got a pretty good start, Lando won the opening race feature race in Bahrain, and after that opening he was a regular front runner, he was fighting for the title against George Russell and Alexander Albon
His road towards an F1 seat did continue when he enjoyed some very productive FP1 outings in both Belgium and Italy, and in September it was announced that he would be partnering Carlos Sainz at McLaren in 2019. After this he did finish a remarkable year in Abu Dhabi by securing the runner-up spot in F2, just shortly after his 19th birthday.
F1`s rising star:
Lando was only 19 years old when he made his debut in F1, he had a remarkable rookie campaign, he did finish in the points 11 times and was beating his more experienced teammate Carlos Sainz in their head-to-head qualifying battle. Lando grew a lot as a racing driver during his sophomore campaign and did get his maiden podium in the opening round at Austria in 2020 where he finished third. He did also finish outside points just four times that season, he did also become regular in the top 10 and did help McLaren to finish at their highest finish since 2012 in the Constructors championship.
Lando did continue to rise in 2021 as he did claim four more podiums, but unfortunately did miss out on his first win at the Russian Grand Prix, this made him establish himself as an F1 frontrunner. Lando was also one of the quickest to adapt to a new overhaul to the regulations and a new generation of the car in 2022. He many times during the season did push the MCL36`s full potential to the max and did unexpectedly claim his sixth podium in F1 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, emerging as the frontrunner in a very competitive midfield battle. Lando ended his season as the only driver outside of the top three teams to take a podium and did finish directly behind six drivers from the top three teams which made him end up with seventh place in the Drivers championship.
McLaren`s senior driver:
The 2023 season had a pretty tough start for Lando and McLaren and his new teammate Oscar Piastri, but he did play a key role in managing expectations and maximising the ability of the MCL60 while the team was working on key upgrades for the car, and once does upgrades were done, Lando never looked back, he did find his place among F1`s elite by taking 193 points in only 14 rounds, which made Lando finish as the second most consistent driver behind World Champion Max Verstappen.
Contract extension and commitment to the team:
As we went into the 2024 season Lando had already seen more than enough to know that his future was with McLaren, the team he had dreamt of driving for since he was just a little boy, he did sign a multi year contract extension in January 2024. Lando`s confidence grew and it was proven to be right, as he and McLaren went up a level.
McLaren have had a strong start of the year, and the upgrade before the Miami Grand Prix made them one of the most competitive and consistent teams on the grid.
During the Miami Grand Prix the 5th of May 2024, Lando finally made his biggest dream come true, he won his first ever Formula One race, what a day this was, not only for Lando and McLaren but also for all us fans, that have been waiting for just as long as Lando for a victory, at least I was beyond happy, happy tears streaming from my face, definitely a day that is on the top list of the best days in life, I WAS SO PROUD!
And it did not stop there, during the rest of the season he got 3 more wins, not to forget the most notably win in the title deciding season finale, where Lando led the race from Pole with like seriously nerves of steel to finish as P1, which secured the Constructors Championship win for McLaren, for the first time in 26 years. Also a huge day, and I was proud once again,and probably cried like a baby for hours of happiness of course, it still gives me goosebumps to just write about it.
Not only a racing driver:
Lando Norris is not just a racing driver, he is more, he is a part time streamer on Twitch where he plays games and streams with his friends, he is the founder of the brand Quadrant, which came to life in 2020. Quadrant has become a dynamic motorsport community, they are designing clothes, supporting athletes, creates a lot of funny and entertaining content, in either motorsport, gaming or just doing different kind of challenges, and partnerships, all driven by the teams own passion for motorsports, they are challenging the status quo, making their mark on everything they touch. Quadrant also includes everyone, not just boys and young men, but also girls and young womens, they have a space for everyone, which I think is pretty amazing.
Lando has also founded his own brand in karting, LN racing kart, he is here in a partnership with the OTK Kart Group and their goal is to give young talents the opportunity to race on the best quality, technology and competitiveness under the name LN Racing Kart.
Article Written By: Ingrid Amdahl
