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    Sainz: Norris doesn't follow 'badass' stereotype

    20 hours ago

    Carlos Sainz praised his former teammate Lando Norris' championship victory, saying it was proof "you can be a world champion being a nice guy." Norris started his Formula 1 career with McLaren in 2019, alongside Sainz -- a popular partnership, dubbed 'CarLando' by fans, which lasted until the Spaniard joined Ferrari in 2021. One theme of Norris' post-race champions' press conference was his pride in winning the title his own way and sticking true to his values. Sainz doubled down on that in his own media sessions, saying the Englishman proves that good guys don't always finish last in Formula 1. "Very happy for him as a driver because he's always been an extremely quick driver, quicker than what people give him credit for, extremely talented," Sainz told Sky Sports F1. "The first years at McLaren, I saw a guy who had the speed to be multiple world champion if it was purely down to speed. Along the way, he's developed his skills a lot and now he's a world champion. "More than anything, I'm happy for him as a person because he's a driver that doesn't follow the typical stereotypes of a world champion. He's always stayed true to himself, very honest, very open about his own struggles, and proven to everyone you can be world champion being a nice guy, that you don't have to be ruthless or badass. "Happy for him. I hope he stays the same, that it doesn't get in his head that he's world champion and he keeps being himself, or even if he relaxes more, and can enjoy F1 more. "He must have suffered a bit this year with all the social media pressure, journalism pressure from criticising him when he was struggling in the first half, then when Max was getting close. It's never easy to be world champion with Max breathing down his neck but he's kept it more or less under control." Norris won the championship by two points over Max Verstappen, who saw his run of four consecutive championships come to an end. Norris became only F1's fourth champion in the last 10 years -- after Nico Rosberg's championship and retirement in 2016, Hamilton won every title until Verstappen's first in 2021.
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