Lando Norris says winning the 2025 British GP on Sunday, July 6 was a moment that allowed him to complete a childhood dream after growing up watching the historic Lewis Hamilton victory at Silverstone, something he now emulates.
Hamilton won a soaked race in Northamptonshire back in 2008 and led home the field by well over a minute as he continued his charge towards a maiden Formula 1 world title, something his younger McLaren peer largely replicated over 16 years later.
By taking the commanding win at his home Grand Prix, the 25-year-old has now moved to within eight points of the lead of the drivers’ standings and is on a run of three victories in four as he hounds down Oscar Piastri.
But rather than the wider context of battling for the title, it was the emotional victory of winning in his own backyard that got to Norris as he feels he emulates the likes of Hamilton and Nigel Mansell by creating his own historic moment at the 2025 British GP.
“Where do I start? I mean, eventful race. Yeah. Eventful race,” Norris told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “I mean, it means a huge amount.
“At the end of the day, being on top in your home race is very, very special. And I said in some of the other interviews, you know, this is where it all started for me. I was watching on TV.
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“I was watching, all those many years ago, Lewis, Jenson, Fernando. I think it was, you know, that extremely wet race here, in 2007 or 2008. That’s when I really started watching Formula 1.
“And I think Lewis won, and I got that picture of him going around and seeing all the fans standing up, and that picture of what an atmosphere in Silverstone is like, and dreamed of that for many, many years.
“And today I got to live that feeling myself and see it through my own eyes. So pretty amazing, pretty special. A lot of people, from my friends and family, my brother, my sisters, my mom, my dad, my dad’s parents.
“Every person that I could have here is here. So, yeah, more special than ever, 100%. And, yeah, tough race to do it in as well.”
Norris says fans cheered him to 2025 British GP victory
Something Hamilton has also alluded to in the past is the feeling of coming to corners such as Brooklands, Stowe, Vale and Club and seeing the fans rise to acclaim the Brit, who has won around the famous track no fewer than nine times.
And Norris finally got the chance to experience that himself on Sunday, admitting it was a unique experience in the final few laps once he felt he had the race under control, touching on the surprising intimacy of that moment too.
“The last two laps, looking up at the fans and seeing them on their feet and cheering – these are moments that no one really gets,” Norris added. “None of you guys get to witness.
“This is something that I and very few others, especially Brits, get to witness. It’s a very selfish moment, but it’s one of the most special, the most incredible, because it’s such a rare thing that someone gets to feel and to see and to witness.
“For me, the best win. Maybe not the best way to win, I’m not going say it’s my best win, that’s not true. But in terms of what it means to win here at home, the want, the desire to do it in front of my own grandstand, my family, my friends, McLaren…
“His Royal Highness [King Charles III] is here, to win in front of all of them and to make amends for last year makes it all even more special. So, yep, very memorable.”
Norris now looks to potentially take the lead of the world championship next time out at the 2025 Belgian GP on July 27, which he will do if he wins the race and Piastri fails to finish second at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
