Norris aims to follow the greats: “I want more battles with Alonso, Hamilton and Verstappen”. Fresh from winning the 2025 Formula 1 world championship, Lando Norris says he wants more on-track battles.

The 2025 Formula 1 season came to an end just one week ago. Last Friday also saw the FIA prize-giving ceremony, but Lando Norris, the newly crowned world champion of the pinnacle of motorsport, is already looking ahead, fully focused on the future and on the 2026 season.

This year, Lando Norris managed to secure the world title by defeating his two main rivals, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, at the end of a battle that went down to the very last race of the season. McLaren proved to be stronger than Red Bull for much of the year, with the Dutch driver only managing to get himself back into contention in the closing stages, reopening a championship that had seemed all but over for him after Zandvoort.

Norris held off Verstappen’s late comeback and ultimately beat him by a margin of just two points in the final standings, underlining how close and intense the fight for the championship had been throughout the season.

A new journey begins for Lando Norris

Achieving this feat once has made Lando Norris the 2025 world champion, but the British driver knows full well that more is required to truly enter the pantheon of legends of this sport. How can that be achieved? By measuring himself against other great names, battling them wheel to wheel, and proving that he is the strongest.

“It’s always a privilege to be able to compete against the best in the world. There are many of these great drivers on the grid. There’s Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen… Many people would like to follow in their footsteps,” Lando Norris said.

Among those names is Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion endured a difficult 2025 season in his first year with Scuderia Ferrari, but Norris remains convinced of the Briton’s extraordinary abilities.

“Lewis has proven that he is probably the greatest of all time. If there’s someone who has the ability to bounce back, it’s him. I’d love to have more battles with him,” Norris said, speaking to Sky Sports F1, as reported by Marca.com.

Looking ahead to the future, Lando Norris is fully aware of the challenges that await him. “In 2026 everyone will have a chance. My rivals will try to take the crown away from me, and I’ll do everything I can to keep it,” he concluded, already thinking about what it will take to defend his Formula 1 world championship title.