Lando Norris Reveals Why He Defied Strict McLaren Team Order After F1 Title Win

Newly-crowned Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris has revealed why he decided to ignore a McLaren team order after sealing his maiden world title.

Norris, 26, reached the top of F1 on Sunday afternoon as he finished third in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to win the 2025 world championship.

Despite Max Verstappen's best efforts, the Dutchman fell short as he finished just two points behind Norris, who is now the 35th different driver to become world champion.

Following the chequered flag, Norris was told by his race engineer, Will Joseph, not to do any burnouts (Donuts) on his way back to the grid.

He said: "Hate to be a little bit boring, no burnouts."

However, Norris decided to ignore Joseph's orders and proceeded to perform celebratory donuts on the track while being cheered on by the crowd.

Speaking to F1 during the aftermath of his title win, Norris explained why he 'had to' ignore Joseph's team radio.

He said: "Will told me not to do donuts. And I'm like, ‘God, can I do donuts or not? I have to. This is one opportunity in my life to do donuts. I have to do it.’

"I felt pretty bad cause he told me not to. And I was like, it's not often I don't listen to Will. I felt bad that I did it, but yeah."

Lando Norris 'lost belief' before winning F1 title

When reflecting on his season, Norris admitted that he 'lost a little bit of belief' in the early parts of the campaign.

The 26-year-old said: "I found a good rhythm with the car halfway through the season and I feel like I've been able to find confidence in myself, in my ability not just to win races but to go and fight for a world championship.

"I've certainly had some fortune this year but I've certainly had a fair share of tough moments – especially at the beginning, [there was] a lot I struggled with and lost a little bit of belief early in the season."

Norris added: "More for myself at that point, it was nice to prove myself wrong in a way at times, starting off in Monaco Qualifying and a few moments after that. The second half of the season I've really been able to show to myself what I could do, what I was capable of doing."