Is Lando Norris, with his first Formula 1 world title, over a mental hurdle and will more top prizes follow in the coming years? Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos is not yet convinced. “The world champion of 2025 is not the best driver of 2025, and everyone agrees with that.”
There are still doubts about Lando Norris’s mental resilience, as Robert Doornbos also knows. “I know how it works. When the media write well about you, it’s nice. And when they write poorly about you, you can say ‘I don’t read it’, but you still get to know about it. I estimate that Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri are not sensitive to this, but for Norris, it’s different based on the character he has. And such a thing can easily become your bottleneck if you want to compete for titles at this level. Formula 1 is a split decision sport, you make decisions in fractions of a second. If you have one negative thought, consciously or subconsciously, it can cost you two to three hundredths.”
‘Life’s Work Accomplished’
In Doornbos’s view, Norris owes his first title entirely to his car. At the same time, with that title, as he puts it, the ‘monkey is off his back’, or a heavy burden is lifted from his shoulders. “Then his life’s work is accomplished and everything that follows is a bonus.”
However, the question remains whether more titles will follow. A comparison with fellow countryman and regional peer Jenson Button is inevitable. Button became the world champion for the first and only time with Brawn GP in 2009. His title was due to a technical innovation (double diffuser), which allowed him to build a substantial lead in the World Championship early in the season. Eventually, he won the title by the skin of his teeth.
Doornbos says, “The difference lies in the car. Norris’s McLaren has been the dominant car throughout the year. The similarity with Button is the dwindling lead and the tension that brings. Look, winning is winning. However, there will always be a certain flavor attached to this title of Norris. He could and should have made it much easier for himself. And whether he will get such a chance again? That’s a big question with the new technical regulations coming next year.”
