"Norris clinched his maiden championship with a gutsy and well-measured drive to third in a tense Abu Dhabi finale, but it was an achievement built on a lot more than that one result alone. As Laurence Edmondson wrote on Sunday night, Norris' victory was the culmination of a season of self-doubt and rebirth, a vindication of the raw openness that he has made his calling card."
"Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was one of the drivers to congratulate his fellow countryman in the TV pen on Sunday, shaking his hand and giving him a hug. 'I told you you could do it,' the Ferrari driver said. As Norris admitted during his long news conference on Sunday, and as he has time and time again during his career, there have been genuine moments he did not, in fact, believe he could achieve this."
"Norris might well be the most vulnerable champion Formula 1 has ever had. As he echoed the line most synonymous with the famous Frank Sinatra song, there was a subtext to it that went unsaid: He's done it his way, but he's done it his way in an environment where that is not the norm. Norris has been one of the grid's strongest advocates of embracing and acknowledging weakness and imperfection in a cutthroat sporting environment that shuns the idea of both."
Lando Norris clinched his first Formula 1 world title with a measured third-place drive in Abu Dhabi. The championship followed a season marked by self-doubt, personal rebirth, and a visible commitment to openness. Prominent peers, including Lewis Hamilton, publicly congratulated him and underscored the value of showing vulnerability in sport. Norris repeatedly framed the victory with the phrase "I did it my way," signaling an individual approach that contrasts with traditional team-based toughness. Observers noted that attention to his personality matched attention to his driving as central to the triumph.
Read at ESPN.com
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