Lando Norris ignores McLaren team orders to celebrate championship

Norris during press conference after Las Vegas — Photo: © IMAGO

Lando Norris

Lando Norris ignores McLaren team orders to celebrate championship

Will Joseph had one last instruction for Lando Norris

By Sheona Mountford.

Tuesday 9 December 2025 19:00

Lando Norris brushed aside team orders from his McLaren race engineer, Will Joseph, choosing instead to celebrate his Formula 1 championship win in style after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Following a demanding 24-race campaign that stretched across five continents and 21 countries, McLaren finally had reason to celebrate as the Briton sealed his first F1 title.

But before the celebrations could fully begin, Joseph endured one final moment of stress when Norris ignored his instructions in order to mark the moment his own way.

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As Norris returned his MCL39 to the start start/finish straight for the last time in 2025, the champion completed a couple of donuts in front of the crowd in the grandstands; but later revealed he was under strict instruction not to do so.

"Will told me not to do donuts. And I'm like, ‘God, can I do donuts or not? I have to. This is one opportunity in my life to do donuts. I have to do it’,” Norris explained to Lawrence Barretto.

Why was Norris forbidden from doing donuts in Abu Dhabi?

While no exact reason for the ban was given from the McLaren pit wall, it was likely that Joseph’s instructions were out of concern for Norris.

The strict FIA post-race scrutineering was probably on the mind of McLaren, and perhaps urged caution to prevent burning excess fuel or shedding tyre marbles, the latter of which could have seen Norris’ car fall below the minimum weight.

With McLaren’s double disqualification at the Las Vegas GP still fresh in the mind, Joseph’s caution was probably an attempt to ensure the car remained legal and passed FIA inspections.

Following the post-race checks on Norris’ car, all elements inspected were found to be in conformity with the FIA’s technical regulations and the British driver is officially the 35th F1 world champion – even after a couple of cheeky donuts.

F1 McLaren Lando Norris Abu Dhabi Grand Prix