20 April 2026 20:30 (UTC)
"One of the most prestigious awards an athlete can win"
Lando Norris has been named the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award winner, following his 2025 Formula 1 World Championship triumph.
Only last week, Lando was included in TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world for 2026, rewarding a sensational season in which he claimed his first world title.
Lando beat tough competition from Désiré Doué, João Fonseca, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luke Littler, and Yu Zidi to secure the illustrious award.
The 26-year-old from Glastonbury is the sixth F1 driver to claim the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award, and the first since Nico Rosberg in 2017. Previous winners include Daniel Ricciardo (2015), Jenson Button (2010), Lewis Hamilton (2008) and Juan Pablo Montoya (2002). McLaren were nominated for last year’s Laureus World Team of the Year prize, which was won by Real Madrid.
Nominees are selected by the Laureus Nominations Panel, which is comprised of more than 1,000 members of sports media from more than 70 countries. The winners are voted for by the Laureus Academy, a distinguished group of sporting legends.
“Tonight was a very special night,” Lando said. “I managed to win the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award, one of the most prestigious awards an athlete can win. To everyone who voted for me, to the Laureus Nominations Panel, thank you very much for awarding me this incredible prize. I am very honoured to be recognised alongside the many incredible people I was up against, and those who have won this in the past.
“As always, I must say a big thanks to my whole team, to everyone at McLaren, and to my personal team. Everyone who has been a part of this journey with me also gets to accept this award. Thank you very much, everyone.”
Winning seven times in 2025, Lando was crowned as the Drivers’ Champion at the end of an entertaining and closely fought three-way battle with four-time Champion Max Verstappen and team-mate Oscar Piastri, who recorded a career-best finish in the standings.
His seven victories included memorable triumphs at home in Silverstone and F1’s most famous race, the Monaco Grand Prix. A strong end to the season proved decisive, as he overturned a 34-point deficit with nine rounds remaining to clinch the title at the Abu Dhabi finale. After being crowned Champion, Lando said he was proud to have “won it my way”, by staying true to himself. He is just the 11th driver from Great Britain to win a World Championship and the eighth for McLaren.
Lando has been with McLaren since he was 17 years old. Initially signed as a Test and Simulator driver, he progressed through our Driver Development Programme to become a Test and Reserve Driver in 2018, before stepping up to F1 in 2019.
He became a regular podium scorer in his early seasons before claiming a famous first win at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. Adding a further 10 wins and 43 podiums, as well as 16 Poles, the British star helped lead McLaren to back-to-back Constructors’ Championships, with the 2025 title secured with six rounds to spare.
