Norris: I would have hated to embarrass my family and girlfriend

The McLaren driver entered the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi with a 12-point advantage over Red Bull's Max Verstappen and a 16-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri.

All Norris had to do to win a maiden Drivers' Title was to finish on the podium, but he gave himself extra work to do by qualifying his MCL39 in P2 on the grid as Verstappen clinched pole by over two tenths of a second.

The Grand Prix got off to a less than ideal start for the Briton, who lost a position to Piastri on the opening lap and was immediately under pressure from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

In fact, Leclerc was firmly in the mirrors of Norris for a large part of the 58-lap event; if the latter lost one more position Verstappen would have claimed a fifth consecutive Drivers' crown.

Fortunately for the 26-year-old, he managed to put his head down and open up a gap to Leclerc, eventually crossing the line in third position to beat Verstappen in the Standings by just two points.

The emotions poured out of Norris as he saw the chequered flag waving in front of him and the magnitude of a first Formula 1 Title became clear in his mind.

Speaking immediately out of the cockpit of his McLaren, the British driver was keen to express that this life-changing moment was far from a solo effort.

He said: "It's been a long journey with me and McLaren. I've been with them for nine years.

"We have been through plenty of crazy difficult times and crazy good times. For me to give something back to them, I feel like I did my part with the team this year.

"I'm very proud of myself for that but even more proud for everyone I hopefully made cry," exclaimed Norris.

A lot of pressure was riding on the McLaren driver's shoulders heading into the final Grand Prix of 2025, but he stated that this pressure helped him to perform at the best of his abilities and secure the Title.

He continued: "My best performances this year came when I needed them the most. When I was on the back foot is when I did my best and showed the most of me.

"I managed to get the gap I needed to perform and do what I needed to do today."

Of course, Norris couldn't go without expressing his heartfelt gratitude to his parents and loved ones, who helped mould him into the Drivers' Champion that he now is.

He concluded: "I'm proud. I've got my whole family, my girlfriend, a lot of people here. I would hate to embarrass them on a day like today.

"My mum and dad let me share this dream and today I got to share it with them."

F1 will return with new technical regulations in 2026. The first race will be the Australian Grand Prix, taking place on Sunday 8 March at 04:00 GMT (15:00 local time).