Lando Norris has become Britain’s eleventh Formula One world champion and delivered on a destiny that seemed set since he was a young boy.

The 26-year-old whose father, Adam, is a multimillionaire who made his fortune as a pensions trader, started racing karts at the age of eight and was on pole position for his first national event.

Early rise

Norris, who has dual Belgian nationality through his mother Cisca, was born in Bristol and grew up in Glastonbury.

Educated at Millfield in Somerset as his career blossomed, it became increasingly hard to find time to attend school, and there was a fair bit of home tutoring involved.

His junior career marked him out as a potential future Formula One world champion.

His family’s resources ensured he was provided with everything he needed to allow his talent to flourish, and when he made it to Formula One, he immediately proved he had what it took.

‘Everyone tells me he is the greatest thing since sliced bread’ was a common refrain as Norris progressed through the ranks, and his performance confirmed the belief.

Norris has won the title in his seventh season and has spent his entire Formula One career with McLaren, with whom he has kept faith as they have grown from also-rans to the sport’s leading team.

His boss there is American Zak Brown, McLaren Racing’s chief executive officer, who has been involved with Norris since before either was at the team.

Norris’ career was funded by his father until he reached Formula One, and he was guided through his karting years by his manager Mark Berryman.

Rising through ranks

When Norris took his first steps in car racing, they did not have the necessary contacts, and they turned to Brown, then the boss of a sports marketing agency called JMI and well known in the paddock as a deal maker.

Initially, Brown felt “this is not what I do”. But Norris’ team were persistent, and Brown said, “I thought, all right, everyone tells me he is the greatest thing since sliced bread, maybe I can help”.

When Brown started paying attention, he realised Norris was the real deal pretty much right away, and people around the paddock saw the same thing.

Stephanie Carlin, who worked with Norris from his early teenage years, said “he was just phenomenally quick, and he was able to execute it really well.

There has been an underlying talent and speed and pace that has existed from the first time he got in a car”.

Norris’ path was eased when Brown joined McLaren in 2016. In 2018, he paired Norris with Fernando Alonso in the Daytona Twenty Four Hours. Norris set himself the target of beating Alonso’s lap time, and he achieved it, stunning observers with his pace in the wet at night.

Brown recalled, “Fernando Alonso, one of the best racing drivers in the world, Lando was his match”. When Norris joined McLaren’s Formula One team, the evidence accumulated that he belonged at the top.

In 2019, Norris immediately matched Carlos Sainz, who had far more experience, and he comfortably outperformed Daniel Ricciardo when the Australian joined the team in 2021.

Alonso himself wrote on a helmet he gave to Norris, “You are a star, a rock star”, as a sign of the respect he earned in the paddock.

Norris’ personality helped him become a fan favourite. His understated, dry humour and willingness to show his authentic self on social media strengthened his following during the pandemic and boosted his gaming and lifestyle brand.

Zak Brown explained, “he used to be very shy, and he still kind of is in his own way. But as he has become more mature, he has become more comfortable in his skin and more confident as a team leader”.

Norris based himself in Woking when he first reached Formula One to integrate fully with McLaren but like many drivers, he later moved to Monaco for financial reasons.

By then, he was already recognised as one of the leading talents of his generation alongside George Russell and Charles Leclerc.

It took time for Norris to become a frontrunner. Early McLaren cars were not competitive, and he missed a likely win in Russia in 2021 after misjudging incoming rain.

Norris stayed loyal, signing multiple extensions despite interest from Red Bull because, as Brown said, it came down to “relationship,s transparency, visibility. He is comfortable here, this has been his family since day one”.

Midway through 2023, McLaren’s major engineering restructure transformed the team. Norris took his maiden race win in Miami in 2024, and several more followed as he mounted a title challenge.

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