2014 Ginetta Junior rookie champion Lando Norris has written his name into motorsport immortality after becoming Formula 1 world champion for the first time in Abu Dhabi today (07 December).
11 years on from making his car-racing debut as a fresh-faced 14-year-old in the Ginetta Junior Championship, Norris has realised his lifelong ambition by becoming the 11th British driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship.
From the first time he got behind the wheel of a Ginetta G40, it was clear for everyone to see the talent that Norris had in cars. The young talent enjoyed a superb Junior campaign, securing four overall race victories on his way to third in the final standings and the rookie class title.
He rapidly progressed up the single-seater ladder from there, winning titles in MSA Formula, Toyota Racing Series, Formula Renault 2.0 and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship inside four seasons en-route to the pinnacle of open-wheel competition in Formula 1.
Debuting in 2019 with McLaren at just 19 years of age, Norris scored his maiden podium finish the following season in Austria. His long-awaited breakthrough victory came in Miami last year and he’s been a prolific race-winner since, adding ten more Grand Prix victories to his résumé.
Seven of those wins came this year, including winning both the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time. Part of a nail-biting three-way title decider in Abu Dhabi, he emerged as champion courtesy of his 18th podium finish of the year.
Mike Simpson – Ginetta Head of Motorsport: “Everyone at Ginetta offer our congratulations to Lando Norris for becoming Formula 1 world champion. He has achieved arguably the greatest feat in motorsport and we are all incredibly proud of his accomplishments.
“Lando had a great reputation coming out of karting and he only strengthened his position as a star of the future with a brilliant debut season with Ginetta. Since then, we’ve all enjoyed following his journey to becoming one of the best racing drivers in the world.
“Seeing Lando become Formula 1 world champion is the perfect way to end the 20th anniversary year of the Ginetta Junior Championship. He has gone from Ginetta racing to the top of the sport and is sure to inspire a generation of young drivers to try and follow in his wheeltracks.”
On the F1 support package, the 2025 FIA Formula 2 and F1 Academy seasons have also come to their conclusion in recent weeks, with Ginetta Junior graduates having excelled in both series across the campaign.
2018 Junior race-winner Luke Browning headed into the final two rounds of the FIA F2 season in contention for the drivers’ championship. While title glory didn’t go his way, he emerged fourth in the final standings and also completed his third F1 free practice outing of 2025 for Williams Racing in Abu Dhabi.
In the F1 Academy meanwhile, Ella Lloyd finished up the season a brilliant fourth overall in the final standings with five podium finishes to her name. One place behind was former Junior scholarship winner Alisha Palmowski, who secured her fifth podium of the year in the final round of the season in Las Vegas.
Images from Jakob Ebrey Photography and Clive Mason / Getty Images.
