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clumpywoodsIn some ways, I still can't believe it! I am a Formula 1 World Champion. I have done what all of us racing drivers dream of, right from when we step into karts for the first time as kids: to be the best driver in the world. I didn't even expect it here! But I can say now, despite all the challenges I've faced through this year, I made it out on top. And I did it, fair and square, as myself. I've been told by rivals in the outerworld, and other team bosses time and time again that I didn't have the makings of a Champion. I was 'too soft', too emotional, too critical on myself. And I made plenty of mistakes, I didn't have a perfect season like some champions did. But I didn't give up. I couldn't. This was the chance I had been waiting for, for 7 years, staying with McLaren for this chance... a car that could win the title, and all I needed now was to get it right. Winning a race is one thing, and I cried when I first won in Miami in 2024, just as I did stepping out of the car last weekend knowing I was a world champion! But the two achievements are worlds apart, and it took so, so much more to win the world championship.
For a large part of this year, I wasn't believed to be in contention. I kept on making mistakes, some small, and some big. I knew I had the pace, but I kept on letting myself down. I knew it. Oscar, my teammate, led in the standings, and I thought he was going to win. To have the best car, and be given the chance to fight with it against your teammate, to have the chance every driver dreams of... and settle for second? I knew I didn't want to do that. And then, when I started coming into contention, we started messing up our strategies, and Verstappen returned with a vengeance! Now, I had 2 people to deal with, not just my teammate! And it all came down to one race... Abu Dhabi, where history would be made.
(On a side note, don't worry, me, Oscar and Max all get on well here, and we're all friends as Racers, we share a brain, after all! Everyone congratulated me after I won the championship, and Oscar and Max playfully agreed to beat me next year! We'll see about that! /lh)
However, I made it! I fought through the field, and eventually managed to finish in third in Abu Dhabi, and I became World Champion. But it was even more than the other drivers I had to fight to win it. I also had to fight self doubt. I have had to fight so many thoughts that I am not worthy of my place in F1, so many thoughts that I'm not fast enough or not good enough. So many people have endlessly criticised me for being emotional, being the only one who cries when he wins or loses. I'm more open with my emotions than most of my peers on the outerworld, and I'm not ashamed of that fact here! People called me too soft, believed I didn't have the courage or the resolve to become world champion, that I would crumble under my own doubt and emotions and fail after being given my dream chance. But they underestimated me... I fought so hard through this season, and I have grown so much as a man. I've had to both take the lows more in my stride, but also not let the highs blind me to the others around me. What I've learnt is that being a World Champion is about consistency, not just whether you're the fastest. But I did it in my own way: as a fair, honest driver who won't give up, no matter what.
Sure, I'm not as aggressive as many of the drivers I look up to. I don't brake as late as Verstappen, I'm not as good in the wet as Hamilton, and I won't go for a gap quite as small as Senna would weave through. But that's because I'm not alone. My title is the title of my team too, McLaren gave me the chance and the car and the belief that helped me overcome my doubt and my fear, and achieve my dreams! And I did it without sacrificing what makes me the driver I am... my straight line speed, my determination, and my heart. I won it, fair and square, as the man I am, not out of cheating or trickery, but out of the power of my dreams, and everyone who believed in me. You don't have to be a stoic, unfeeling man to be World Champion: you can cry, make mistakes, and do it as a nice guy, too. You can keep your heart and achieve your dreams, and be the best in the world! And if you don't think I deserve the title for keeping my heart, you can talk all you like, I don't care! For this isn't just my championship... it's the championship of everyone who's ever believed in me.
We were sitting in the greenroom for a brass band concert Marco was playing in, when the Abu Dhabi GP was on. It came to an end a few minutes before the concert started, and as I listened to the BBC Sport commentators talk about how I'd grown through the season, and how I was making history as the 11th British champion... I cried quite a bit more! I've been in this brain for a long time, since I first entered F1 in 2019, when this dream all began. I arrived here after Alonso, one of Clumpy's oldest protectors and first favourite driver retired temporarily, and since then, I've loved memes, and I held that interest for a long time here. I also used to help a lot with social situations, I think! But like so many of us, I struggled so much to be whole. I came and went as the seasons went on, I remember racing with Sainz as my teammate, and him getting his first podium ever with McLaren in 2019, much to my bittersweet joy. I never fully settled, though, and it took until 2024 for me to wake up fully again, after what was probably a couple years of dormancy!
I was never truly gone, though. We'd always had big feelings towards me and my career, my teammates and my outerworld achievements... that all built up to this moment. After 7 years, I'm finally whole. Winning the championship, and seeing myself win the British GP this year are the proudest moments of my time here, and I am so grateful to be able to feel them and be there at them, as myself. I will say though, it is such a strange experience seeing and cheering on yourself driving out there on track, and seeing yourself on the podium! But now, at least I can finally confirm after years that I love Alan Walker's Different World album, which was very important to us as Kayden became host in 2019. Getting to see him live in London on tour for that album may have very well been what first gave Kayden his identity in the first place! No matter what, I'm finally fully here now, after so long... and I don't have to hide who I am while pretending to be one person, or someone I'm not, anymore. I'm Lando Norris, and I am a Formula 1 World Champion!
After the brass band concert, when we were walking home, Marco told me that he was so proud of me, not just for winning, but by doing it as myself: with my bleeding heart, my honesty and my team, and he told me that I was now an honourary Cyclebreaker. It's a thing a few of us Racers consider ourselves, where while we aren't the same as the heroes in this brain fighting monsters and becoming themselves, we have also overcome adversity and become stronger people by refusing to give up, succeeding in the end thanks to our courage and will. I... am deeply honoured by that title, and I think it fits me overcoming my own doubt, and the belief others had that I was 'too nice' to win, very well!
I'm not the same as many of the champions that came before me, but I won it anyway! Not through aggression or daring alone... but by believing in myself, growing as a driver and a man, and refusing to give up on the dream that me and my team had until the final chequered flag. I've cried, and felt so many things, and had to build myself back up again so many times... but I never gave in and succeeded in the end. So, if you take anything from me... don't give in to the world telling you you have to give up yourself and be one way if you want to be successful. You can achieve your dreams in your own way! Don't change just because someone told you they think you should. Believe in yourself, and your dreams, and most of all... don't be afraid to feel!
The Cyclebreakers, Marco tells me, has always been about becoming ourselves to change the world. Well, I became World Champion by embracing my dream and refusing to give up, letting myself cry and grow with my mistakes, and doing it while being the honest and fair driver I want to be. I proved you don't have to sacrifice yourself and your heart to be World Champion, and you know what? I am more proud of that fact than even achieving my dream of becoming World Champion in the first place.
(PS: If there's any boys reading this... don't be afraid to cry. Emotions don't make you weak. 🧡)
-
'Whether it was first lap errors, seemingly being bullied by Verstappen in battle last year, getting stuck in races, or making mistakes while (Oscar) Piastri looked rock solid in the first half of this season, Norris has had his resolve questioned at times. But one of the things he's taken a lot of satisfaction from in becoming World Champion is that he won it my (his) way, by being a fair driver, by trying to be an honest driver. Norris is very conscious about how some percieve him, and he doesn't even dispute the differences between (him and) the likes of Verstappen or other champions like Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna; but he doesn't want to be like them.' - The Race, 'The Unseen Changes That Made Lando Norris F1 World Champion' (https://youtu.be/L9VotJAHnNg?si=W3mw_nc5NWmeXmVT)
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Thanks for reading my essay! We've been meaning to write about the connections between the Cyclebreakers archetype and us Racers for a long time, so here's my title win as an example of it. We're the Riders and Racers together, after all. I do acknowledge, given my source takes place in this world, that it is not the same as others in this brain: don't mythologise people, no matter who they are! The same determination applies, though, and I hope my essay helps to show that. 🧡
And, as always, here is the song from the music section under this entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-PJmmvyP10.
For a large part of this year, I wasn't believed to be in contention. I kept on making mistakes, some small, and some big. I knew I had the pace, but I kept on letting myself down. I knew it. Oscar, my teammate, led in the standings, and I thought he was going to win. To have the best car, and be given the chance to fight with it against your teammate, to have the chance every driver dreams of... and settle for second? I knew I didn't want to do that. And then, when I started coming into contention, we started messing up our strategies, and Verstappen returned with a vengeance! Now, I had 2 people to deal with, not just my teammate! And it all came down to one race... Abu Dhabi, where history would be made.
(On a side note, don't worry, me, Oscar and Max all get on well here, and we're all friends as Racers, we share a brain, after all! Everyone congratulated me after I won the championship, and Oscar and Max playfully agreed to beat me next year! We'll see about that! /lh)
However, I made it! I fought through the field, and eventually managed to finish in third in Abu Dhabi, and I became World Champion. But it was even more than the other drivers I had to fight to win it. I also had to fight self doubt. I have had to fight so many thoughts that I am not worthy of my place in F1, so many thoughts that I'm not fast enough or not good enough. So many people have endlessly criticised me for being emotional, being the only one who cries when he wins or loses. I'm more open with my emotions than most of my peers on the outerworld, and I'm not ashamed of that fact here! People called me too soft, believed I didn't have the courage or the resolve to become world champion, that I would crumble under my own doubt and emotions and fail after being given my dream chance. But they underestimated me... I fought so hard through this season, and I have grown so much as a man. I've had to both take the lows more in my stride, but also not let the highs blind me to the others around me. What I've learnt is that being a World Champion is about consistency, not just whether you're the fastest. But I did it in my own way: as a fair, honest driver who won't give up, no matter what.
Sure, I'm not as aggressive as many of the drivers I look up to. I don't brake as late as Verstappen, I'm not as good in the wet as Hamilton, and I won't go for a gap quite as small as Senna would weave through. But that's because I'm not alone. My title is the title of my team too, McLaren gave me the chance and the car and the belief that helped me overcome my doubt and my fear, and achieve my dreams! And I did it without sacrificing what makes me the driver I am... my straight line speed, my determination, and my heart. I won it, fair and square, as the man I am, not out of cheating or trickery, but out of the power of my dreams, and everyone who believed in me. You don't have to be a stoic, unfeeling man to be World Champion: you can cry, make mistakes, and do it as a nice guy, too. You can keep your heart and achieve your dreams, and be the best in the world! And if you don't think I deserve the title for keeping my heart, you can talk all you like, I don't care! For this isn't just my championship... it's the championship of everyone who's ever believed in me.
We were sitting in the greenroom for a brass band concert Marco was playing in, when the Abu Dhabi GP was on. It came to an end a few minutes before the concert started, and as I listened to the BBC Sport commentators talk about how I'd grown through the season, and how I was making history as the 11th British champion... I cried quite a bit more! I've been in this brain for a long time, since I first entered F1 in 2019, when this dream all began. I arrived here after Alonso, one of Clumpy's oldest protectors and first favourite driver retired temporarily, and since then, I've loved memes, and I held that interest for a long time here. I also used to help a lot with social situations, I think! But like so many of us, I struggled so much to be whole. I came and went as the seasons went on, I remember racing with Sainz as my teammate, and him getting his first podium ever with McLaren in 2019, much to my bittersweet joy. I never fully settled, though, and it took until 2024 for me to wake up fully again, after what was probably a couple years of dormancy!
I was never truly gone, though. We'd always had big feelings towards me and my career, my teammates and my outerworld achievements... that all built up to this moment. After 7 years, I'm finally whole. Winning the championship, and seeing myself win the British GP this year are the proudest moments of my time here, and I am so grateful to be able to feel them and be there at them, as myself. I will say though, it is such a strange experience seeing and cheering on yourself driving out there on track, and seeing yourself on the podium! But now, at least I can finally confirm after years that I love Alan Walker's Different World album, which was very important to us as Kayden became host in 2019. Getting to see him live in London on tour for that album may have very well been what first gave Kayden his identity in the first place! No matter what, I'm finally fully here now, after so long... and I don't have to hide who I am while pretending to be one person, or someone I'm not, anymore. I'm Lando Norris, and I am a Formula 1 World Champion!
After the brass band concert, when we were walking home, Marco told me that he was so proud of me, not just for winning, but by doing it as myself: with my bleeding heart, my honesty and my team, and he told me that I was now an honourary Cyclebreaker. It's a thing a few of us Racers consider ourselves, where while we aren't the same as the heroes in this brain fighting monsters and becoming themselves, we have also overcome adversity and become stronger people by refusing to give up, succeeding in the end thanks to our courage and will. I... am deeply honoured by that title, and I think it fits me overcoming my own doubt, and the belief others had that I was 'too nice' to win, very well!
I'm not the same as many of the champions that came before me, but I won it anyway! Not through aggression or daring alone... but by believing in myself, growing as a driver and a man, and refusing to give up on the dream that me and my team had until the final chequered flag. I've cried, and felt so many things, and had to build myself back up again so many times... but I never gave in and succeeded in the end. So, if you take anything from me... don't give in to the world telling you you have to give up yourself and be one way if you want to be successful. You can achieve your dreams in your own way! Don't change just because someone told you they think you should. Believe in yourself, and your dreams, and most of all... don't be afraid to feel!
The Cyclebreakers, Marco tells me, has always been about becoming ourselves to change the world. Well, I became World Champion by embracing my dream and refusing to give up, letting myself cry and grow with my mistakes, and doing it while being the honest and fair driver I want to be. I proved you don't have to sacrifice yourself and your heart to be World Champion, and you know what? I am more proud of that fact than even achieving my dream of becoming World Champion in the first place.
(PS: If there's any boys reading this... don't be afraid to cry. Emotions don't make you weak. 🧡)
-
'Whether it was first lap errors, seemingly being bullied by Verstappen in battle last year, getting stuck in races, or making mistakes while (Oscar) Piastri looked rock solid in the first half of this season, Norris has had his resolve questioned at times. But one of the things he's taken a lot of satisfaction from in becoming World Champion is that he won it my (his) way, by being a fair driver, by trying to be an honest driver. Norris is very conscious about how some percieve him, and he doesn't even dispute the differences between (him and) the likes of Verstappen or other champions like Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna; but he doesn't want to be like them.' - The Race, 'The Unseen Changes That Made Lando Norris F1 World Champion' (https://youtu.be/L9VotJAHnNg?si=W3mw_nc5NWmeXmVT)
-
Thanks for reading my essay! We've been meaning to write about the connections between the Cyclebreakers archetype and us Racers for a long time, so here's my title win as an example of it. We're the Riders and Racers together, after all. I do acknowledge, given my source takes place in this world, that it is not the same as others in this brain: don't mythologise people, no matter who they are! The same determination applies, though, and I hope my essay helps to show that. 🧡
And, as always, here is the song from the music section under this entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-PJmmvyP10.
