‘It's weird but also insanely cool': McLaren's Lando Norris on the dream and dilemma fueling his F1 title ambitions

CNN

12 hours ago

It's a unique position to be in.
How do you work alongside a colleague for the greater good of your team and simultaneously vie with them to win the ultimate prize in motorsport?
That unenviable dilemma is one that McLaren's Lando Norris is trying to navigate as one of the most tantalizing Formula One title races in recent memory plays out against teammate Oscar Piastri.
With both drivers seeking their maiden world titles and just 15 points separating the two ahead of the midpoint of the 2025 season at this weekend's British Grand Prix, Norris' conscience is clear. His eyes are very much set on fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a world champion.
'I've always been very (accommodating) of having a teammate and also always realizing I want to beat everyone,' the 25-year-old tells CNN Sport's Amanda Davies.
'It doesn't matter what color car they're in. It doesn't matter if they're my teammate or not. In racing you want to be at the top. We've always made it very clear that we want to beat each other, but understand how we work together as a team and how we can help the team move forward.
'We know we're competitors, we know we're rivals … I think we both understand what it takes.'
Although in recent seasons the drivers' championship has been a largely foregone conclusion thanks to the dominant brilliance of Max Verstappen, the 2025 season has been anything but that.
The lead has ebbed and flowed on several occasions, largely passed between the two McLaren drivers in an engaging game of cat and mouse.
Norris, who finished runner-up last year, may have started out the season as the favorite to end Verstappen's run of four consecutive titles, but he's so far been eclipsed by his younger teammate, Piastri, who's won five races to Norris' three.
But just as the Australian was looking to pull away from his title rival, the Brit's commanding win at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix has once again seen him reel in his teammate.
It now looks increasingly like a two-horse race with Red Bull's Verstappen trailing Norris and Piastri by 46 and 61 points respectively.
While McLaren boss Zak Brown has dismissed that suggestion, insisting that up to five drivers – the McLaren duo, Verstappen, Ferrari's Charles LeClerc and Mercedes' George Russell – are in the fight, Norris believes that just being in this position is far beyond his wildest expectations.
'I still find it weird to think I'm fighting for the world championship,' he says.
'I'm fighting for what I once dreamed of, what I once saw on TV, which is weird but also insanely cool at the same time.'
This campaign has so far been a season of firsts for Norris, with maiden wins at the season-opening Australian Prix and, most recently, the famous circuit at Monaco.
For the Brit, though, there's no denying that a grand prix victory on home turf at the historic Silverstone track is the one item he's desperate to tick off the bucket list having twice before finished on the podium – third last season and runner-up in 2023.
Can he go one step further this year?
'I said if I could swap any race wins to win one, it would be Silverstone,' Norris says. 'Your home race is the one you just feel most proud of. It's the one that always brings the biggest smile to you because it's your fans, your family, your friends are there.
'I watched the race (on TV) … and you think: 'Oh, what's it like?' Then you stand there and you have the team there and you get that sense of pride and you're there performing for your team.
'I don't know what it's going to be like (to win). Hopefully I'll find out sooner rather than later … because it's the one that I get most excited for.'
Success this weekend would not only accomplish a lifetime ambition, but also further elevate Norris' burgeoning fandom at home.
It's something he's not taking for granted.
'I don't think it's normal for a human to get so much support and so many cheers. … I don't think you get used to it. It's what I struggle to get used to the most,' he says.
'In some ways, you can get a little bit used to the winning. … That's the easy bit of the job for me and it always will be. I think Silverstone will always be the weekend I look forward to the most every single year.'