Parc Ferme: Lando's Bloom

Probably. However, the real reward is not the shiny trophy Norris will get in the motorsport metropolis of Tashkent in a few days’ time, nor is it the footnote in F1 history.

The greatest achievement in 2025 is beating his self-doubt in the pressure cauldron of Grand Prix racing. A victory that has eluded many.

Norris was never Parc Ferme’s McLaren pick for 2025. Even as far back as late 2024, Oscar Piastri looked like he would eclipse him.

It wasn’t a lack of talent or speed, he just seemed so… vulnerable.

Where Lando appeared to be crumbling under the weight of expectation, Piastri was ostensibly impassive. Then came Monaco. A pole lap and win that looked to mark the beginning of a turnaround.

But an unfortunate engine failure in Zandvoort suggested his fate was sealed. Oscar looked like he was going to run away with the Crown, and Norris had yet to display the inner strength necessary to overcome such a body blow.

However, the turning point for the two teammates was to come at Monza. McLaren’s request for Piastri to “hand back” his position to Norris following a pitstop fumble must have been a watershed moment.

True or not, the idea of a preferred Norris McLaren Champion was starting to look like a thing. A negative thought that Piastri didn’t need, and one very hard for any driver to banish.

As if on cue, the normally stoic young Aussie then appeared to come undone, putting it in the hedge in Azerbaijan and then struggling in Vegas and Mexico. It was suddenly, as Max Verstappen put it, “difficult to believe Piastri had forgotten how to drive”.

However, there is one school of thought that could explain Norris’ sudden rise. The modified suspension he took on board in Canada may well have started to pay dividends in the low-grip, dusty tracks.

It’s possible that the old version preferred by Piastri suddenly became a liability in comparison, especially if Norris had now got his head around it.

Oscar didn’t find his feet again until he arrived at the high grip, smooth Lusail track in Qatar. By then it was pretty much too little too late.

Of course, we’ll never know the true story, but one thing is for sure: a genuinely nice guy won the Championship. Too nice in fact.

Saying that Oscar would soon surpass him as he blubbed his way through his “thank yous” was not a requirement. Piastri still looks the better pilot going forward, but… You never know.

Winning a World Championship changes a driver. Things start to become easier; the pressure is off a little, and suddenly, lap times you had to push for are popping up without trying.

Norris now knows he can stiffen his mental sinews if necessary. He may just be a couple more tenths faster next year, and that will annoy Oscar, Max and Parc Ferme.

Meanwhile, can someone pass me the salt? This hat is rather tasteless.