Norris misses out on prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award

Newly-crowned F1 World Champion Lando Norris fell short in the public vote for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award, finishing third behind Rory McIlroy and Ellie Kildunne.

Norris clinched the F1 2025 World title as he overcame a 34-point deficit after the Dutch Grand Prix to win by a slender two points.

Lando Norris was pipped to the award by Rory McIlroy

The 26-year-old claimed seven grand prix victories to bring his overall tally to 11 as he ended Max Verstappen’s four-year reign and handed McLaren the double as the team also wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship with Oscar Piastri.

But for the BBC fans, it wasn’t quite enough to overhaul golfer McIlroy, himself an investor in Alpine’s Formula 1 efforts, who this year became only the sixth player in history to win the career Grand Slam.

Norris did not attend the event personally but did appear via a live video link.

“Hello everyone, good evening. I’m very sorry I cannot be with you all on this beautiful evening,” he said.

“A lot of incredible people there that I would’ve loved to have joined.

“I’m enjoying a little break at the moment. I’ve had a really enjoyable year.”

F1 2025: The season’s winners and losers

👉 The results of the F1 2025 championship

👉 The final Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

Norris finished third in the public vote, behind the McIlroy and England rugby union World Cup winner Kildunne.

“Wow,” McIlroy said after receiving the award. “First of all, I would like to congratulate all of the other finalists.

“I know how much hard work and dedication it takes, so it is a pleasure to just be in this room. I feel truly honoured to just be a part of it.

“2025 has been the year I made my dreams come true. From Augusta to the Ryder Cup and everything in between. It’s the year dreams are made of.”

Lionesses Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton, who were part of the side which retained the European Championships, and World Darts Champion Luke Littler, completed the six nominees.

Norris has revealed how Zandvoort was the turning point for him in the season as an engine issue saw him drop 34 points behind his teammate Oscar Piastri.

But rather than take the pressure of fighting for the title off his shoulders, Norris said it actually had the opposite impact.

“I honestly would just want to say no,” Norris replied to PlanetF1.com and other accredited media. “It didn’t allow me to relax. Like, when I see 34 points against a guy who’s in the same car, who’s doing an incredible job, who I know is incredibly quick, that didn’t fill me with confidence.

“And it wasn’t like, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose now, I can just go.’ I felt like I was trying to do everything I could before, and I continued to try and do everything I could after.

“But I just had to step up what I was doing away from the track. The people I was working with, I added more people to that group. I had to work harder both on the simulator and here at track. I had to change my approaches. I had to change my… yeah, like a lot of people do. I had to dig deep and try and understand more things quicker and in a more advanced way than I ever have before.

“That’s what gave me the advantage I had – not, ‘Oh, the pressure’s off, I can go and do what I’d like to do.’ It was really the opposite. I was like, ‘Oh, shoot. I’m quite a long way behind against a pretty freaking fast driver, and I’ve got to step it up.’

“And I’ve got to be more myself because of external factors — working with more professionals in different areas to unlock more of my ability.

“And I think when you saw that, I had that run of great results, which is ultimately what got me the championship in the end.”

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