The ONE thing McLaren F1 star Lando Norris must do to silence boos

Norris wins at Interlagos — Photo: © IMAGO

Lando Norris

The ONE thing Lando Norris must do to silence F1 boos

Lando Norris is leading the drivers' championship

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 12 November 2025 10:57

One of the recurring themes at recent F1 race weekends has been Lando Norris standing on the podium, having claimed grand prix podiums in each of the last four grands prix, as well as a sprint race win.

But this has also led to another recurring theme of the season, the booing of British star Norris.

Wherever he goes, he can't seem to escape the boos, with it being most prevalent at the Mexican GP, when he claimed pole position and victory in the grand prix.

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At the recent Brazilian GP, however, a spattering of boos could be heard once again, as he topped sprint qualifying, the sprint race, grand prix qualifying and the main race.

Unlike boos that have been aimed at Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the past, these booing episodes have not been fuelled by Norris beating a home hero.

But there is a way that he can make it stop, as he charges towards a maiden world title.

Why has Norris been getting booed?

The boos in Mexico were some of the loudest we've heard for any driver at any track throughout 2025, and an event at the circuit on media day on the Thursday showed Mexican fans booing his name before he had even completed a session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

It's widely thought that boos in Mexico and Brazil have been fuelled by events earlier in the season, in which a controversial incident saw Norris being 'given' extra championship points by team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Amid their fierce championship battle, Piastri was 34 points ahead of Norris heading into the Italian GP, but emerged with that lead at just 31, a lead that has since been whittled down by Norris, who has turned it into a lead for himself in the standings.

At that race in Monza, however, a botched pit stop from McLaren on Norris' car meant that Piastri overtook his team-mate for second, and was due to once again extend his championship lead.

However, McLaren enacted team orders to swap the two drivers around, allowing Norris to secure that second spot in what was a six-point swing in the championship.

The boos are thought to be part of a feeling that McLaren 'gifted' Norris those points and are therefore not overseeing a fair championship battle, something that McLaren will argue was at the heart of their decision to switch the two drivers, with the team not wanting a botched pit stop to determine which one of their drivers wins the championship.

How can Norris stop the boos?

It's simple really. If Norris wins the championship by more than six points, surely that will satisfy F1 fans around the world and make them realise that he is a worthy winner.

That Monza race was the difference between Norris being 31 points behind Piastri, or being 37 points behind him, but as it stands either scenario would equate to Norris leading the championship.

After a dismal Brazilian GP weekend for Piastri, Norris is now 24 points ahead and is romping towards his first championship title.

The difficulties Norris will have will be if that lead comes down once again and, heading into the final race of the season, Piastri is just six points behind Norris.

Either way, it's quite refreshing to see that F1 fans have moved on from the Hamilton vs Verstappen tribal warfare that has been rumbling on since the 2021 season.

READ MORE: Norris booed AGAIN at Brazilian GP

F1 McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri