Lando Norris says still trying to just accept being Formula 1 Champion

After an intense battle with Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, Norris finally managed to achieve his F1 dream and clinch the Championship.

Now, Norris has to defend his crown in a far from ideal situation, as he will do that in a new era of regulations with no guarantee that McLaren can replicate the dominance they enjoyed in 2025.

Norris was back in action last week in Barcelona, where he tested the MCL40 with the #1 on his car.

Asked by F1 TV about his approach to his title-defending campaign, he said: “I’m excited for everything!

"Do I wish I had one more month to lay back and enjoy everything, take everything in? It was a few weeks off of just trying to realize what happened last year. It had become a reality, my dream.

“I think I’m still even now trying to just accept it and to realize that it’s happened. At the same time, it’s back to work, and now we’ve got to try and do it all over again.

"It makes me happy; it gives me good confidence coming into this season, but it’s such a different, such a big challenge with all the regulations, all the changes this year.

“I feel good. I’m happy. I've accomplished something huge in my life," the 26-year-old maintained.

McLaren were not ready for the first day in Barcelona and suffered some fuel system issues when Piastri was driving the MCL40, while Mercedes, for example, were racking up the miles with their W17.

However, Norris is satisfied so far; he said: “It’s so easy to get caught up into comparisons, just because we’re all competitive, so you always want to see yourself doing well and feeling like you can be quick.

"But I think we understood a lot, both in lower-fuel stuff, higher-fuel stuff, the tyres, just what we came here to do, really, [which] is to understand the car, especially from a reliability point of view—make sure that all the sensors are working as they should, the PU’s working as it should, the gearbox, whatever it is.

“[Making sure] everything is just doing what we expect," Norris added, "because reliability is one of the most important things, so a lot of it’s from that side, and a lot of it is stuff over the next few days and weeks the team will look into and try to improve on and make better.

"And from my side, just to get back comfy with the car, some little bits I need to change here and there, but otherwise it still feels like a race car, still feels fast, and still enjoyable," the reigning F1 Champion concluded.