By Alan Baldwin
ABU DHABI, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Lando Norris recognised life would change as Formula One world champion, although he hoped to stay the same as a person, and an immediate sign was the decision made on Monday to race with the number one on his McLaren next season.
The 26-year-old told Reuters Television, a day after he clinched the title in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a three-way battle at Yas Marina, that he was setting aside his familiar number four.
“I actually had to decide
today," said the Briton, standing on a hotel balcony with the bright lights of Yas Marina reflected on the water behind him.
"In a way, I wanted to keep number four, because I'm just happy with that and it goes well with my logo ... but I will go with number one, because I have to. I have to.
"It can be my only opportunity in my life that I get to do such a thing, and not many people in the world get to do that kind of thing.
"And it's not for me. It's just for my mechanics, this is for my engineers. It's the fact that they get to run with the number one on the car, and I think it'll mean a lot more to them than it does to me as a number, and for me that's a lot more important.”
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
Norris, whose breakfast of champions was an early morning McDonald's after a night of partying that left his throat and voice slightly the worse for wear, said last week that his life would not change if he won the title but that was just words to relieve some of the stress before battle.
Another immediate mark of his changed status became obvious when he went for a swim.
"I was by the pool earlier, and there were a lot more people, I think, that came up to me than originally would have come up to me," he said.
"But look, it's not going to change me, which for me is the most important thing. It's not going to change my life in terms of how I live it, how I want to live it."
That said, he expected people to see him differently as a champion, rather than one of 20 drivers -- or 22 next year.
"People are going to know my face a little bit more, sadly, and they're going to see my face and maybe just notice me a bit more. But apart from that, you know, my life’s the same.
"I'm going to go and be with my friends, my family, go play golf, go play padel ... nothing changes from that side.”
Norris clinched the title by two points from Red Bull's Max Verstappen, ending the Dutch driver's four-year reign, and 13 clear of 24-year-old Australian teammate Oscar Piastri, who will be back next season to try and beat him.
"Oscar did an incredible job this season and out of anyone I'm glad I got to race against him and fight against him," said the Briton.
"There's going to be a lot more battles between me and Oscar and many other drivers, and there’s many more years of me and Oscar together, and I look forward to partnering with him and continuing to be good mates and also be strong, fierce competitors.”
Norris will be back in the car at Yas Marina on Tuesday, testing already for 2026.
He said he would be driving with "probably a little bit more of a smile on my face than normal" while reliving the final laps from Sunday.
"Otherwise, you know, it’s just prep for next year already. This is, ‘OK, one done’, and what can we already start to do that's going to help achieve us the same thing next year?”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Ken Ferris)
