F1 fans have reacted on social media after Lando Norris’ dad, Adam, made a ‘distasteful’ comment after his son beat Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri to the 2025 Drivers’ Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Despite four-time F1 champion Verstappen winning the race in the United Arab Emirates and Piastri securing second place, Norris’ third-place finish was enough to secure the Englishman’s maiden F1 title, making him just the 11th Brit to achieve the feat.
Norris pipped Verstappen by two points while finishing 13 points ahead of Piastri, who will no doubt look back on this season with regret, having led the standings until October’s Mexican Grand Prix.
After his triumph, Norris cut an emotional figure while hugging members of his family as well as his partner, Magui Corceiro.
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The 26-year-old said he felt “amazing” while adding that he “didn’t think” he would cry, but was welling up while speaking to F1.com.
The Englishman then congratulated both Piastri and Verstappen, describing them as his “two biggest competitors all season”.
“It's been a pleasure to race against both of them, and I've learnt a lot from both of them as well,” Norris explained.
“I've enjoyed it, it's been a long year, but we did it, and I'm so proud of everyone.”
And despite Lando being modest in victory, some fans did not take kindly to his father’s comments following the Yas Island race.
A video emerged on social media of Lando’s father, Adam, who is a multi-millionaire, having made his money as a pension trader, speaking about his son’s success while claiming “no one remembers” the person who came second, third, fourth, or fifth.
“I’m trying to think, I don’t remember who came second… maybe in the past ten championships, people have been ill or DNF (did not finish) or [had issues with] engines, but you don’t really remember it, you only remember the winner,” Adam said in a post-race interview.
Reacting to his comments on social media, some fans described Adam as a “sore loser”.
One said: “We didn’t get sore losers. But Mr Norris is proving this time we got a sore winner.”
Another added: “Verstappen will be remembered for being the superstar of the season.
"Norris will be remembered as the driver who nearly lost the championship in the fastest car.”
A third claimed: “No, but everyone will remember Max coming back from 100+ points down to nearly ruining the party.”
While a fourth commented: “He also didn’t invent this saying, I’ve heard it countless times in the last couple of years…
"It’s not a dig at Max, it’s just the way this sport works. I bet even Seb wouldn’t be able to list all the runner-ups, even just in the seasons he competed in.”
The 2026 F1 season will get underway in March.
Topics: Formula 1, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, Motorsport
Luke Davies