Formula 1: Lando Norris joins McLaren (for a second time)

Lando Norris joined McLaren as a member of their Young Driver Programme in 2017, and that led to him replacing two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso at the Woking-based team upon Alonso's first retirement after the 2018 season.

Norris secured his first career victory in the Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome back in May, and that win, coupled with McLaren's uptick in form and Red Bull's slump, catapulted him into surprise world championship contention throughout most of the rest of the season.

While four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen proved to be too much for Norris to overcome, winning five races after the Miami Grand Prix despite having not had the fastest car, Norris was still able to add to his career year with dominant wins in Zandvoort and Singapore.

And in Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, he secured his fourth win of the year.

Now the 25-year-old Briton has joined McLaren in a different way.

Norris has tied McLaren himself – Bruce McLaren – on the all-time Formula 1 wins list. The two are tied for 56th place on the all-time list with three other drivers, including Eddie Irvine and Dan Gurney. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr., who is set to move to Williams in 2025, is also a four-time race winner.

Unlike Norris, McLaren's four wins all came in different years. He earned one win in each of the 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1968 seasons.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner has gone on to win the following season's world championship every year since 2018/2019, and Norris is hoping that that trend continues for a seventh straight year in 2025.

The 2025 Formula 1 season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 16 with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit. Sainz is the reigning winner of this race, while Verstappen is listed as the way-too-early world championship favorite as he pursues a fifth consecutive title. The 24 races on the 2025 calendar are set to tie this year's all-time single-season Grand Prix record.