Lando Norris given first test as F1 champion... against McLaren boss Zak Brown!

Newly-crowned F1 champion Lando Norris has been back on the race track, going up against McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.

Norris claimed the drivers' championship at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, holding off challenges from Max Verstappen and team-mate Oscar Piastri.

The Brit is now enjoying some well-deserved time off, before the 2026 season starts up again with a pre-season testing event as early as late January.

But before Norris could escape for Christmas, he did compete in the DeWalt Karting challenge, a sponsor event for the Woking-based outfit.

Norris went up against Brown in a series of challenges, including a karting slalom, pit stop and hot lap in karts that were made by DeWalt in partnership with eBay.

McLaren's YouTube channel detailed the whole challenge, and it was Norris who took the spoils, taking yet another champion title.

Norris will be overjoyed to now have bragging rights over his boss Brown, who claimed at the start of the video that there was "a lot on the line."

When does the 2026 F1 season begin?

Norris won't have to wait long to mount the defence of his championship crown, with some testing coming up next month.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - which may not be on the F1 calendar after the end of its current contract which ends in 2026 - will host five days of testing between January 26-30, meaning official 2026 running begins just seven weeks after the end of the mammoth 2025 season.

Bahrain's first three-day testing schedule will take place between February 11-13, before another three days at the circuit between February 18-20.

The F1 season then starts properly with the Australian Grand Prix weekend, which begins on March 6.

2026 will once again be the joint-longest F1 season in history, with 24 races making up the calendar, exacerbating concerns drivers have had about the amount of travel and driving they have to do each season.

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