Lando Norris Is F1’s Most Hated World Champion. Here’s Why He Doesn’t Deserve It.

Lando Norris is a Formula 1 World Champion.

He’s also one of the most criticised champions we’ve seen in years.

After winning the 2025 title in Abu Dhabi, you’d expect universal praise. Instead, social media was flooded with claims that he was “gifted” the championship, that McLaren favoured him, and that Oscar Piastri or Max Verstappen deserved it more.

How does a driver who overturned a 34-point deficit, won under immense pressure, and delivered when it mattered most end up being treated like an imposter?

I want to break down exactly why Lando Norris gets so much hate and why, when you actually look at the season properly, he is a fully deserving Formula 1 World Champion.

How Lando Became Champion

Norris has always shown the potential to become something special in Formula 1. I can’t say I watched him rise through the junior series but, once he reached F1 in 2019, it was obvious he would have a bright future.

Early Seasons

He finished 11th in his debut season, scoring two sixth-place finishes in a midfield McLaren alongside Carlos Sainz. In 2021, he blitzed experienced teammate Daniel Ricciardo by 45 points, scoring four podiums along the way.

By the time 2024 came around, Lando was an established, fast driver who just needed to connect all his sessions together in order to score his first win in Formula 1. McLaren started off on the back foot but, by the end of the season, had the best car on the grid, overtaking the Red Bull team that had dominated the modern ground-effect era.

Teammate Oscar Piastri was in a similar position. He had shown flashes of exhilarating pace in 2023 but lacked an ability to manage his tyres, manage a race, or be consistent enough to become a champion.

Not Quite There

Lando scored a slew of pole positions in 2024 in the increasingly fast McLaren but struggled to maintain his place by Turn 1, conceding wins in the process. Fans on social media started to whip out the meme generators, labelling him a “bottler” and nicknaming him “Lando No-wins”.

Thankfully, Lando scored his first win in Miami in 2024, silencing the doubters and beginning his rise to the top of Formula 1.

The Dominant Car

In 2025, McLaren comfortably had the dominant car. It was fast across a variety of corner types, managed its tyres better than any other team, and, as a customer Mercedes team, had the best engine on the grid as well.

Lando started the season strongly, winning in Australia from pole while his teammate spun onto the wet grass and finished only ninth. Norris kept his form, with three further consecutive podium finishes before a fourth-place result in Jeddah.

However, Piastri then locked in. He scored five wins in the next eight races, including Jeddah, taking the championship lead there.

As Norris was the more experienced driver and now had a championship-winning car, fans expected him to be much more closely challenging his 21-year-old teammate. Piastri showed off his calm demeanour in the first half of the season, remaining ice-cool as he secured crucial race wins. He had also mastered his tyre management and could control races once he took the lead, giving him a remarkably mature aura.

Despite scoring podiums in eight of the first nine races, fans resurrected the “bottler” nickname for Norris, expecting him to be competing more closely for the title, which Piastri appeared to be running away with. This perception wasn’t helped by Norris’ crash in Canada, where he ploughed into the wall after a poor overtake attempt on Piastri for the lead.

Papaya Rules

“Papaya Rules” became one of the most-used phrases in Formula 1 during 2025, as McLaren battled to keep their two title-contending drivers under control. The term, referencing McLaren’s bright orange branding, described the rules of engagement between Norris and Piastri: race fairly, don’t jeopardise the team result, and don’t crash into each other.

With two drivers capable of winning the world championship, McLaren were desperate not to be seen as favouring one over the other or creating a number-one driver. Keeping both Norris and Piastri happy was critical to maximising their dominant car.

Aside from being slightly cringeworthy, Papaya Rules were rarely popular with fans, particularly when they appeared to favour one driver, whether intentionally or not.

Round 16 at Monza was one of the most controversial examples. Norris was running second, with Piastri third, as the pit stops began. Piastri stopped first, with Norris coming in on the following lap. A problem with Norris’ front-left tyre delayed his stop, allowing Piastri to pass while Norris was still in the pit lane.

McLaren then ordered Piastri to hand the position back before allowing the drivers to race.

After the race, Norris said:

“It wasn’t my fault. If I had gone into my garage at full speed and wiped out all my mechanics, I wouldn’t have expected to regain my position, but today it was out of my control.”

It’s difficult to pick a side. While it felt unfair on Piastri, Norris was also correct: it wasn’t his mistake. Most fans sided with Piastri, arguing that poor pit stops are part of racing and that positions should have stood.

That sentiment was echoed by Piastri over team radio:

“I mean, we said that a slow pit stop was part of racing. I don’t really get what’s changed here. But if you really want to do it, then I’ll do it.”

Although Piastri later called the swap “fair” in public, it’s hard to ignore his immediate reaction. Incidents like Monza, combined with a few favourable strategy calls for Norris that Piastri couldn’t mirror, fuelled fan theories that McLaren were conspiring to favour their British driver.

Overcoming the Obstacles

Oscar Piastri took the championship lead with his win in Saudi Arabia and held it for 15 rounds. For much of the season, it looked like the young Australian would beat his more experienced teammate to his first world title.

During this period, Norris suffered a series of setbacks. His Canada crash eliminated him from the lead, and five rounds later he suffered an engine failure while running second at Zandvoort. That DNF handed Piastri a commanding 34-point lead.

At that stage, the championship felt like it was slipping away. However, Norris remained determined to improve. Earlier in Monaco, he revealed that he had turned off his delta time during qualifying to clear his mind and focus purely on driving. The results were clear, as he outqualified Piastri 13–11 across the season.

Piastri Fumbles

Piastri’s strong mid-season run began to unravel late in the year. Although Norris had been clawing points back with wins in Monaco, Austria, Silverstone, and Hungary, Piastri’s weekend in Baku swung the momentum.

After crashing on a flying lap in qualifying, he started ninth, made a false start, then locked his fronts into Turn 6 and buried his McLaren in the barrier.

Piastri failed to score podiums in Singapore, Austin, Mexico, and Brazil, allowing Norris to take the championship lead while Max Verstappen re-entered the fight. Both McLarens were then disqualified in Las Vegas for excessive plank wear, handing Verstappen a final lifeline.

Lando Reigns Supreme

Thanks to Verstappen’s win in Qatar, the championship came down to the finale in Abu Dhabi. Norris needed only a podium to secure the title.

The race itself was uneventful. Verstappen took pole and won, Piastri passed Norris on Lap 1 to finish second, and Norris completed the podium after expertly fending off Charles Leclerc to claim his first Formula 1 World Championship.

A Deserving Champion

Now you can understand why some fans believed Norris was gifted the championship. This idea is nonsense.

As Verstappen himself once said, “If my mum had balls, she would be my dad.” Championships aren’t decided by ifs, buts, or maybes. Red Bull didn’t give Verstappen a competitive car for much of the season, while McLaren gave both Norris and Piastri the dominant machine. Formula 1 is a team sport, and McLaren were the best team.

Claims that McLaren favoured Norris don’t hold up. This is a team that hasn’t fought for a title since 2012. Their inexperience showed, and in trying to favour neither driver, they often disadvantaged both. Piastri benefited from strategy calls Norris couldn’t replicate, and his 34-point lead evaporated largely due to his own mistakes.

Norris has always had championship-winning potential but has often overthought things or made costly errors. Turning off his delta time symbolised a shift to driving on instinct. Combined with his resilience after the Zandvoort engine failure, it showed real mental strength.

Yes, Norris had the best car, but that’s only half the story. You still have to perform every weekend, learn from mistakes, block out the noise, and keep fighting when you’re down.

Lando Norris did all of that. For that, he is more than a deserving Formula 1 World Champion.

Congratulations, Lando: Formula 1 World Champion, 2025.