“Even a bit nerve wracking”: Lando Norris looks back on ‘great night’ at F1’s 2025 launch event

F1 celebrated its 75 years at the O2 Arena in London by hosting a grand launch event for all the teams and drivers, and Lando Norris was the center of attention in the McLaren camp. The 25-year-old then reflected on his experience at the F1 75 launch event and revealed how he was nervous about the whole ordeal.

Norris joined McLaren in 2019 and has been with the team since then. The Briton has since grown to become the team leader of the Woking-based outfit and mounted a bid for the drivers' world championship last year.

Though his charge for the maiden title did not come to fruition, McLaren won the constructors' championship at the last round in Abu Dhabi. This inadvertently increased the pressure on the English team and Norris.

With the F1 75 launch event being the first time the sport officially held a collaborative launch event for the teams, the stakes were high and the 25-year-old was feeling it. Lando Norris shared his thoughts about the evening at the O2 Arena, he said (via X/@McLarenF1):

"Last night was a great night. Great to see so many people at the O2 Arena. It was exciting, was even a bit nerve-wracking for us. But it was nice to kind of kick off this season and get things going."

Norris finished the 2024 season with a career-best 374 points and remained 63 points shy of championship winner Max Verstappen.

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Lando Norris is ready to take on the fight for the 2025 championship

Lando Norris at the F1 75 Live - Show - Source: Getty

In 2024, McLaren had started the year on the back foot behind Ferrari and Red Bull. This soon changed with the Miami Grand Prix as the English team brought in major upgrades that translated into a victory for Lando Norris at the same venue.

However, these upgrades soon paled in comparison to the lead that Verstappen had mounted in the initial phase of the calendar. This resulted in Norris' championship charge vanishing even before sparking into life.

Nonetheless, the four-time race winner wants to keep such excuses to the sidelines this time around and said (via Formula 1):

"After last year, we kind of have no excuses. In the past, we’ve had our fair share. I think this year we’ve got nothing left to hide behind. We proved last year that we’ve got everything we need and everything it takes to fight at the top and be the best. If we’re not at the beginning of the season then we’re just not good enough, but that’s certainly not how we’re thinking of things."

Pre-season testing for the 2025 season is slated to take place at the Bahrain International Circuit between February 26-28, with the season opener in Australia taking place on March 16.