2025 Formula 1 champion Lando Norris admitted that private messages and personal meetings with legends such as Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and four-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner played an important role in the championship fight.

Norris has spoken about the support he has received ahead of the decisive stages of the season.

“I have received so many powerful words of encouragement, messages and speeches from incredible people who are world champions in a variety of sports, from Lewis, Seb and many more.

Many people don’t know that I communicate with Seb. Some, especially Casey Stoner, wrote me a quick message just when I needed it most: “Think about this, believe in yourself, do this, do that.” That really helped me get back on track.”

Norris’ title chances were in serious jeopardy following the recent rise of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. However, McLaren’s successful strategy in Abu Dhabi on the final stage of the season allowed the Briton to finish third at the Yas Marina Circuit and formalize the championship title.

An important component of success was the pilot’s psychological resilience. Norris made mistakes throughout the 2025 season that could have cost him the title, but he managed to withstand the pressure while his teammate Oscar Piastri succumbed to the pressure at key moments of the season.

Norris concluded: “When you win the championship by just two points, I’m sure that the faith and support of the people around me brought me these two points. That’s why I’m grateful to everyone, because sometimes you only need two points to win the championship.”

According to reports in the Italian media, the Ferrari team has made a decision about race engineer Lewis Hamilton for the 2026 season.

Riccardo Adami has been working with the seven-time world champion since the Briton moved to the Scuderia in January 2025. But there were a few strange and resonant radio conversations between them throughout the season.

During the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton appeared confused by the lack of information from his engineer, and at the Miami round he reacted strongly to the situation, issuing team orders and advising the team to “drink some tea” after Charles Leclerc refused to let him pass.

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Riccardo Adami asked Hamilton: “Are you mad at me?” There was another incident where he ignored her request. Ferrari later announced that the engineer had left the pit wall at that time.

A similar situation was repeated after the last race of the season. During the radio exchange, Hamilton thanked the team and the race engineer for their cooperation, but received no response. The Briton then asked if they had heard him and received an explanation that the team were talking to each other at the time.

At the end of the season, team principal Fred Vasser said the Scuderia would review Hamilton’s inner circle to improve their results. And it looks like the decision has already been made.

According to Italian publication Auto Racer, Ferrari has decided to retain Riccardo Adami as Hamilton’s race engineer for 2026. The most important reason for this was a “very positive” private dinner between the pilot and the engineer.

The team expects to take a serious step forward in 2026 in light of new technical regulations. Next season could be decisive for Hamilton because 2026 is considered the last year of his current contract with Ferrari.

His first season in the Scuderia was a difficult one for the Briton. Hamilton finished the championship in sixth place using the problematic SF-25 car, but lost 86 points to his teammate.

Hamilton went a season without a podium for the first time in his career, while Leclerc scored seven goals. Of particular concern was the seven-time champion’s deteriorating qualifying form later in the year.