Norris' racing career started age seven in karting and his talent became clear from the off, with the Briton taking a pole position in his first national karting race. In 2013 he won the World Karting Championships, the WSK Euro Series and the CIK-FIA European adn CIK-FIA Supercup titles, before becoming the youngest-ever karting world championship winner the following year thanks to triumphing in the CIK-FIA KF World Championship.
His rapid rate of success led to his first year of car racing, with Norris finishing third in the standings of the BTCC-supporting Ginetta Junior Championship - also becoming the rookie champion. A switch to single-seaters followed in 2015 and Norris won his first major title in the MSA Formula Championship (now British F4).
Three more championship titles followed in 2016 as Norris convincingly beat his competition in the Toyota Racing Series, Formula Renault Eurocup and Formula Renault 2.0 championships, winning a total of 21 races across the year.
Naturally, progression into the European Formula 3 Championship came next in 2017, with Norris choosing to remain with the Carlin squad he had won his first single-seater title with in 2015. Norris dominated the championship, taking nine wins across a season in which he also made his F1 test bow with McLaren as part of his development role within the team. He capped off the year with a second-place finish at the Macau Grand Prix in November.
F2 was Norris' destination for 2018, once again sticking with Carlin. The 18-year-old made a flying start to the season, taking pole position at the season-opener in Bahrain before going on to win the first race. Norris faced his toughest test to date, however, in 2018 and it would ultimately mark his first racing year without a title.
A consistent run enabled him to secure second place in the standings behind fellow rookie and countryman George Russell, marking an impressive season nonetheless as he went on to secure graduation with McLaren for the 2019 F1 season.
Norris made his F1 debut in Australia before picking up his first points at the Bahrain Grand Prix with a run to sixth. Norris regularly featured at the front of the F1 midfield through his rookie season, teaming up with Carlos Sainz as McLaren rose to fourth place in the constructors' championship. As well as impressing on-track, Norris also made a name for himself off it by bringing a youthful feel to the F1 paddock with some fun shenanigans, especially alongside Sainz.
A clear step-up from Norris came in 2020 as he started the F1 season with a bang, bagging a maiden podium thanks to a last-gasp fastest lap that saw him move up into third place ahead of the penalty-carrying Lewis Hamilton. It earned him the nickname 'last-lap Lando' which he carried throughout the season as he pulled off a remarkably consistent run of top-10 finishes that were key to helping McLaren seal third place in the constructors' championship.
While he would not go on to repeat his podium heroics, Norris was in fine form throughout the year as he bagged his first top-10 finish in the drivers' championship and was just shy of reaching triple figures in points. Norris faces a new challenge at McLaren this year in the shape of the incoming Daniel Ricciardo.
