This is what Lando Norris wins for claiming his first F1 drivers’ championship

After overcoming the pressure of a title fight, a points deficit to his team-mate and all the dramas of McLaren’s papaya rules, Lando Norris clinched his first Formula 1 title in Abu Dhabi after finishing third in the season finale.

But after seeing off stiff competition from team-mate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen over the course of the 24-race season, what does the Brit actually win for becoming F1’s latest champion?

In Formula 1’s 75-year history, there have been 35 different world champions from 16 manufacturers. In that time, the prize for the F1 champion has remained largely unchanged.

Firstly, there’s one thing that the new world champion doesn’t get, and that’s a prize fund like the winning constructor will receive. Formula 1 doesn’t dish out prize money to its winning driver, and instead divides the prize pot among its teams according to a complex formula set out in the Concorde Agreement.

Drivers may get a bonus from their team as a result of the win, but a driver prize fund from F1 or the FIA doesn’t exist. This has historically been the case too, with individual races sometimes handing out prize money to the top finishers, but a comically large cheque for the champion isn’t seen in F1.

The World Drivers Championship trophy

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

One thing the drivers do get, however, is a trophy. Since the 1990s, the trophy in question has been the imaginatively named FIA Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship Trophy. The award was designed by Richard Fox of metalworking company Fox Silver in 1995. It features a sterling silver cup with gold details and incorporates the signatures of every champion throughout F1 history.

Each year, the F1 champion picks up this trophy at the annual FIA Prize-Giving Ceremony, which takes place at a separate event after the chequered flag has flown on the last race of the season. However, the trophy won’t be Norris’ to keep, as it’s often displayed at the winning driver’s team’s facility before being taken back by the FIA and handed to the next F1 champion a year later. If a driver does want their own champion’s cup to take home, they can pay for a replica.

This year, the prize-giving ceremony will take place in Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, and will see the FIA crown the F1 champion, and prizes will also be given out across other on- and off-track championships.

As well as a temporary trophy, the F1 world champion also wins the option to race with the #1 race number on their suit, helmet and car. The single digit is reserved for the current champion, and Verstappen has raced under it since picking up his first crown in 2021.

Of course, drivers can choose to race under #1 or their own number, with drivers like Lewis Hamilton keeping with their own race number.