The reigning world champion received a special message from F1’s CEO.

F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi

Lando Norris is the reigning world champion (Image: Getty)

Stefano Domenicali has revealed that he constantly reminds Lando Norris to ‘keep smiling’, describing the reigning world champion as ‘different from the others’ on the F1 grid. The McLaren ace’s mental approach was widely debated en route to his first title in 2025.

Norris’ arrival on the grid was far from unexpected as a long-term project of McLaren’s junior team. However, the impact that the Bristol-born racer would have on younger F1 fans was hard to imagine when he stepped up as the Formula Two vice-champion.

His savvy and open approach to social media and fan appearances garnered him no shortage of supporters, and his fanbase has continued to steadily grow, so much so that he was cheered on by several designated grandstands as he clinched his maiden British Grand Prix victory at Silverstone in July.

F1 CEO Domenicali wants to make sure Norris retains his smile. “He’s very positive, younger, energetic with his personality, that is different from the others,” he told Sky Sports News. I think that he needs to keep one thing, that I always said to him – keep smiling.

“You need to have positive energy. Sometimes, they are young, so they are doing an incredible job. They are a role model for a lot of people, so they need to remember that they are a unique talent. But I always tell him, no secret, keep smiling.”

Throughout his title-winning campaign, Norris’ approach was questioned and inspected. The 26-year-old was repeatedly told to brighten up and be less self-critical in interviews, but stuck to his guns and delivered McLaren’s first Drivers’ Championship title since Lewis Hamilton in 2007.F1 Grand Prix of Brazil - Practice & Sprint Qualifying

Stefano Domenicali sent a repeated message to Norris (Image: Getty)

“I hope it doesn’t change anything I do, the way I think, the way I do things,” Norris said after winning the crown. “I believe I won the championship this year my way – by being a fair driver, by trying to be an honest driver.

“At times, could I have been more aggressive and got off the brakes and had a few people over? I certainly could have done, and maybe I would need to do more of that in the future. But did I need to do it this year? Is that the way I want to go racing? Is that me? It’s not.

“And I’m sure if you compare me, if that’s what you wanna do, to all the champions: have I been as aggressive as them at times? No. Have I been as daring as them at times? No. But did I do just what I needed to do to win the World Championship? Did I perform consistently?

“Did I perform when I needed to under the most pressure? Post-Zandvoort, did I come back in the way I had to? Did I have three, four weekends of great results? I did. And I performed when I needed to perform to win the World Championship this season. And in the end, that’s what I needed to do. That’s all I needed to do.”