Lando Norris

Lando Norris – Biography, Career and Results

Quick facts

Who is Lando Norris?

Lando Norris is today McLaren's number one driver and has been Formula 1 World Champion since 2025, but his road to the top began much earlier, on a karting track in England. By the time he got his Formula 1 seat in 2019, he had won almost every serious junior single-seater series he had raced in – this kind of clearly visible success is rare in the field.

GPStats' own database tracks Norris's Formula 1 statistics in detail, so this profile instead focuses on what lies behind them: how he got from karting to McLaren, which championships he won along the way, and what he did alongside his Formula 1 career – including a genuine 24-hour sports car race and a surprisingly serious esports career.

The early years

Norris grew up as the son of Bristol businessman Adam Norris and Belgian Cisca Wauman, and his father's financial backing also played an important role in the early stages of his career – it enabled him to take part in a serious karting programme as a child. He started karting at roughly seven or eight years old, mainly at the Clay Pigeon track, and quickly moved up into the international categories.

In 2012 he won the British Formula Kart Stars championship, and by 2013 he was already at the front of the field on the international stage too: in the KFJ (KF-Junior) category he won both the CIK-FIA European Championship and the WSK Euro Series title. The high point of his karting career came in 2014, when, driving for Ricky Flynn Motorsport, he won the CIK-FIA Karting World Championship (KF category) – making him one of the youngest drivers ever to celebrate a karting world title, before he had even sat in a race car.

Junior single-seater career

Norris's junior single-seater career unfolded in an unusually short time, with almost non-stop championship titles. The table below summarises his most important seasons:

2016 was one of the busiest years of his career: that same year he won the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series as well as the two parallel, pan-European Formula Renault 2.0 series (Eurocup and NEC) – on top of that he also raced a handful of rounds in British F3 and the Formula 3 European Championship. Notably, Norris's career completely skipped the GP3 Championship: after his F3 European title he moved straight into Formula 2, partly thanks to his junior contract with McLaren.

The road to Formula 1

The triple championship of 2016 – the Toyota Racing Series, the Eurocup and the NEC Formula Renault 2.0 – earned him the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, which traditionally rewards one of British motorsport's most promising young talents and often opens doors at Formula 1 teams. Shortly afterwards, in February 2017, Norris officially joined McLaren's junior programme.

That same year, even before he won the F3 European title, he completed his first official Formula 1 test at the Hungaroring – setting the second-fastest time of the day in a McLaren. Combined with his F3 title, this test programme led McLaren to officially name him as test and reserve driver for 2018. That year Norris also took part in several free practice (FP1) sessions, for the first time at the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, while simultaneously racing in Formula 2 with Carlin, where he ultimately finished second in the championship behind George Russell. This combination – an F2 runner-up finish and proven F1 test pace – was enough for McLaren to give him a race seat for 2019, alongside Carlos Sainz.

Formula 1 career

Norris made his Formula 1 debut in 2019 at the Australian Grand Prix, aged 19, making him Great Britain's youngest F1 driver at the time. He scored his first points finish already at the second race of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix. At McLaren he went through almost the entire arc of the team's resurgence: he took his first podium at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix, and his first pole position in 2021, at the Russian Grand Prix.

He then had to wait years for his first race win – it finally came at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, in the very season in which McLaren reclaimed the Constructors' World Championship for the first time since 1998. At the end of a tight 2025 title fight with his teammate Oscar Piastri, Norris also secured his first Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship. You can find the detailed season statistics, race results and points in GPStats' own Formula 1 database.

Racing outside Formula 1

Norris's career is closely tied to Formula 1, but two areas deserve special mention, in which he proved himself outside the traditional F1 career path as well.

In 2018, while still a McLaren test and reserve driver, he took part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a 24-hour endurance race held as part of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Racing for United Autosports in a Ligier JS P217-Gibson LMP2 prototype alongside Fernando Alonso and Phil Hanson, Norris – who had never sat in a prototype before – set the fastest time in the field in wet conditions and led the team's car for a spell, before a puncture and a brake system issue took them out of contention for the win; they ultimately finished 13th in the LMP2 class.

Alongside his Formula 1 career, Norris also became one of the most active sim racers in the field. Racing for Team Redline, often paired with Max Verstappen, he entered several high-profile iRacing events: in July 2019 they won the 24 Hours of Spa iRacing race, and in 2020 they even led the field at the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans before retiring due to a technical fault in the tenth hour. In April 2020, during the break in live racing caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Norris took part as a guest driver in the IndyCar iRacing Challenge series, and won at his very first round, at Circuit of the Americas, even after a spin. In 2020 he also founded his own esports and content creation organisation, Quadrant.

Notable results outside Formula 1

Career timeline

• 2007/2008 – start of karting career near Bristol
• 2013 – CIK-FIA European Champion and WSK Euro Series champion in the KFJ category
• 2014 – karting world champion (KF), then car racing debut in Ginetta Junior
• 2015 – MSA Formula championship title
• 2016 – triple championship title (Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup and NEC Formula Renault 2.0), McLaren Autosport BRDC Award
• 2017 – joins McLaren's junior programme, then FIA Formula 3 European championship title
• 2018 – McLaren test and reserve driver, Formula 2 runner-up, start at the Rolex 24 at Daytona
• 2019 – Formula 1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix; 24 Hours of Spa iRacing win with Team Redline
• 2020 – first Formula 1 podium (Austrian Grand Prix); IndyCar iRacing Challenge win at COTA
• 2021 – first Formula 1 pole position (Russian Grand Prix)
• 2024 – first Formula 1 race win (Miami)
• 2025 – Formula 1 World Champion

Facts about Lando Norris's career

• He holds dual British–Belgian citizenship: his mother, Cisca Wauman, is of Belgian origin.
• In 2014, even before sitting in a single race car, he was already a karting world champion.
• He never raced in the GP3 Championship during his career – after his F3 European title he moved straight into Formula 2.
• At his 2018 Daytona debut, his first prototype race, he was the fastest driver in the field in the rain.
• He is one of the most active sim racers in the Formula 1 field: as a Team Redline member he has won genuine iRacing races alongside Max Verstappen.
• In 2020 he founded his own esports and content creation organisation, Quadrant.

Frequently asked questions about Lando Norris's career

When did Lando Norris start racing?

He started karting at roughly seven or eight years old, around 2007–2008, near Bristol, and from there progressed into the international karting field.

What championships did Lando Norris win before Formula 1?

In karting he won the CIK-FIA European Championship in 2013 and the world championship in 2014. In cars he won the 2015 MSA Formula, the 2016 Toyota Racing Series, as well as the Eurocup and NEC Formula Renault 2.0 series that same year, and then the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2017.

How did Lando Norris make it to Formula 1?

He joined McLaren's junior programme in February 2017, completed his first official F1 test that same year, and then in 2018, as the team's test and reserve driver, raced in several free practice sessions while also finishing as Formula 2 championship runner-up. This combination earned him a race seat for 2019.

Did Lando Norris compete in categories other than Formula 1?

Yes: in 2018 he raced in the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race in an LMP2 prototype for United Autosports, and during his F1 career he has regularly competed in – and won – serious iRacing events for Team Redline.

Has Lando Norris ever competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours?

He has not taken part in the real Le Mans 24 Hours, but he has in the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans: in 2020 he led the field for a long time in Team Redline's car, before retiring due to a technical fault.

In which year did Lando Norris become Formula 1 World Champion?

He secured his first World Championship title in 2025, at McLaren, at the end of a tight season fought against his teammate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.

Has Lando Norris ever raced in the GP3 Championship?

No – this set him apart from the usual junior career path: after his Formula 3 European title he moved straight into Formula 2, skipping GP3 entirely.

Sources

• FIA – F3: Lando Norris is the new FIA Formula 3 European Champion
• McLaren Racing – Lando Norris driver profile
• McLaren Racing – Lando Norris wins the 2025 World Drivers' Championship
• FIA Formula 2 – Hall of Fame: Lando Norris
• RaceFans – Lando Norris driver profile
• Motorsport.com – When Alonso and Norris almost tasted success at Daytona
• Autosport – Team Redline and R8G Esports win 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual
• ONE Esports – Verstappen and Norris win iRacing's 24 Hours of Spa
• IndyCar.com – Spin and Win: Norris overcomes early mishap to win AutoNation INDYCAR Challenge
• Wikipedia – Lando Norris (supplementary source, for checking chronology and dates)