When Lando Norris took the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi early on Monday morning New Zealand time, it completed his long journey from karting to the F1 World Championship title.
It was a journey that included a memorable season in New Zealand, and his championship success at the pinnacle of the sport also marks the completion of the first step of a motorsport mission for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand.
It’s been nine years since Lando became champion in what was then called the Castrol Toyota Racing Series. It was very evident in 2016 that he was destined for great things, but his success in Abu Dhabi marks a key moment for New Zealand’s premier motorsport championship.
Lando is the first NZ graduate to take the F1 title.
Over the course of two decades, the championship has produced 27 drivers who have gone on to either test, practice or compete in F1, and for some time now, a portion of the F1 grid has been alumni from our championship. Right now, there’s Lando, Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto, Lance Stroll, and as of next season, our 2025 champion, Arvid Lindblad, joins the top rank.
“After a massive 2025 F1 championship that saw a three-way fight right down to the wire by Lando, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, it’s a great honour to be able to say one of our graduates is the Formula one World Champion,” said Motorsport Manager Nicolas Caillol, who was part of the team back in 2016 that helped Lando to his NZ title.
“And for us, that is mission accomplished. Well, Part 1 at least.
“Part 2 of the story, of course, is for our championship to produce New Zealand’s next world champion, and in Formula One, that has been a very long time indeed. When Denny Hulme won the title for Australian Jack Brabham’s eponymous team, it was 1967.
“There have been New Zealand racers in F1 since, of course, Bruce McLaren, Howden Ganley and Chris Amon, to Mike Thackwell and, more recently, Brendon Hartley.
“Right now, it’s another former Toyota Racing Series champion, Liam himself, who holds the best chance of fulfilling Part 2 of the mission – to be New Zealand’s next world champion.
And while we enjoy watching him compete at the highest level and strive for the top of the mountain, we’ll continue to provide one of the best junior formula championships in the world, where the very best rising stars of the single-seater world can make a giant stride towards a seat in Formula One.
“We may well have a future F1 champion after our 2026 championship, which begins in a month, and who knows, that F1 champion could be a Kiwi.”
Header Image: Supplied
