“And now I’m crying!” Norris’s Heartfelt Messages to his Team and Family After Becoming World Champion

Max Verstappen raced valiantly to win the race, and finish second overall, while Norris’s teammate, Oscar Piastri, came in second, making him third in the Drivers’ standings.

The start of the race was a tricky one for Norris, as he lost out on an opportunity to take the lead from Verstappen on pole, and was quickly passed by the fellow McLaren of Piastri. He was then put under major pressure for several laps by Charles Leclerc, who showed a lightning pace in his Ferrari. But Norris held on, not blinking once.

Yet more challenges awaited him after making his first pit stop on lap 16, as Norris came out of the pits on the tail end of a DRS train involving the likes of Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll. Not to be delayed in his hunt for the title, he made quick work of them all until he came to Verstappen’s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.

This was the only real threat to Norris today, as even though he was able to quickly overtake the second Red Bull, he did so off-track. For several excruciating minutes, both he and Tsunoda were under investigation as a penalty loomed over them. In the end, it was ruled that Tsunoda moved under breaking, forcing Norris to leave the track, and the penalty would fall on the Japanese driver in his final race.

From there, it was smooth sailing to the finish line, and the Championship.

Upon crossing the finish line, Norris came on his team radio to express his gratitude in a teary message to the team. “Thank you guys,” Norris said. “Oh my God. You made my dreams come true, thank you so much. I love you guys, for everything. You deserve it. I love you mum, I love you dad. Thanks for everything. And now I'm crying!”

Afterwards, he had more kind words for his team and competitors during a post-race interview. 

"I've not cried in a while! I didn't think I would cry but I did," he said.

"It's a long journey. First of all, I want to say a big thanks to my guys, everyone at McLaren, my parents - my mum, my dad - they are the ones who have supported me since the beginning.

"It feels amazing. I now know what Max feels like a little bit! I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two biggest competitors the whole season.

"It's been a pleasure to race against both of them. It's been an honor, I've learned a lot from both. I've enjoyed it.

"It's been a long year. We did it and I'm so proud for everyone."

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Cover photo by Mauricio K via Pexels.