“If you ever see me not smiling, just punch me”: Lando Norris makes lighthearted rule after F1 title win

New Formula One world champion Lando Norris is simply happy to have reached the pinnacle of motorsport after working toward it for 20 years. The McLaren star recently opened up about his state of mind following his title win and how he still needs to remind himself of what he has achieved. He even joked about what should be done if he ever forgets his accomplishment and starts feeling let down.After a relaxing and rejuvenating post-season break, Lando Norris returned to action at the Barcelona shakedown, where drivers tested the new lighter, shorter, and narrower F1 cars on track for the first time.During his visit to the McLaren Technology Centre following the shakedown, Norris sat down to talk about his title win, his thoughts on being a world champion, and more.He told the media, including GPBlog.com, “The 20 years I spent from starting karting to last year, trying to achieve what I achieved, and what we all achieved as a team, my group, and my family, what we achieved last year… it’s a lot of time and effort and singular focus, and then it’s done. I guess not many people in life get to achieve that end goal or their life goal, but that was it.”“If you ever see me not smiling or something, just punch me or something,” he added.In an interview with Formula1.com at the MTC, Norris also shared how it is people’s reactions that truly make the achievement sink in.“The more people say it to me, that allows it to settle in the most, rather than just kind of seeing it, because sometimes you’re like, ‘Nah, I don’t believe it.’ But when someone says it, I’m just like, ‘Oh, that, it’s a real thing,’” he said.Norris managed to beat four-time world champion Max Verstappen by just two points in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. The way the Red Bull star closed the gap toward the end of the season made Norris nervous. His teammate Oscar Piastri finished third in the championship.Two more tests are lined up next, both in Bahrain later this month. The 2026 F1 season will officially begin on March 8 with the Australian Grand Prix.Also read: Carlos Sainz and girlfriend Rebecca Donaldson share rare moment in summer break photo dump