Formula 1 champion Norris: “It’s been a long journey. Amazing feeling. Now I understand a little how Verstappen feels.”

British McLaren driver Lando Norris, who became the Formula 1 champion, said that he was proud of his team, and also admitted that he now understands the feelings of four-time world champion Dutchman Max Verstappen.

On Sunday, 26-year-old Norris took third place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race and won the championship for the first time in his career, scoring 423 points. Verstappen (421) was second in the drivers’ standings, while Norris’s teammate, Australian Oscar Piastri (410), was third.

– I haven’t cried for a long time! I didn’t think I would cry, but I did. It’s been a long journey. First of all, I want to thank the guys, everyone at McLaren, as well as mom and dad. It’s an amazing feeling. Now I understand a little how Verstappen feels! I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two main competitors throughout the season. It was a pleasure to compete with them. It’s an honor and I’ve learned a lot from both of them.

We did it and I’m very proud of everyone. As we have seen many times, [на трассе] Anything can happen. I planned to fight to the end. [Ферстаппен и Пиастри] made my life difficult this year. But I’m happy! I feel like I did my part for McLaren this year to pay them back for everything. “I’m proud of myself, but I’m even more proud of everyone I made cry now,” Norris said after the finish.

Norris has been competing in Formula 1 since 2019.