Norris' race engineer Joseph ‘very proud’ to be part of title success as he explains 'toughest bit' of his job

Lando Norris' race engineer Will Joseph reflected on how "proud" he is to be a part of the Briton's title success, after the McLaren man secured his maiden World Championship in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale.

With Norris celebrating with the likes of his family, friends, Team Principal Andrea Stella and McLaren CEO Zak Brown – after his third-placed finish in Sunday's race confirmed the title – the man to talk him across the line was Joseph.

The pair have worked together since the very beginning of Norris' McLaren journey, going from strength to strength across the seasons with plenty of low points and incredible highs. That relationship, and their trust in each other, was crucial in Norris claiming F1's ultimate prize.

With Max Verstappen winning the season finale, Norris took the third place that he needed to guarantee the title, eventually triumphing by two points over the Red Bull man.

Had he dropped behind Charles Leclerc, the Championship would have belonged to his rival and, given how quick the Ferrari driver was at times, it added a stressful element to proceedings – something Joseph acknowledged.

“I think Lando seemed more comfortable than we were!” Joseph explained to F1 TV. "We sort of knew how much pace Lando thought he had in hand. At one point we just said okay enough is enough [with Leclerc], just use the pace to get away because this is stressing us out too much.

“I think Lando did a great job, he must have felt comfortable until we gave him the hurry up… You know, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. We were going over all the possibilities, the what ifs, the buts, what if [Verstappen] does this, what if he does that.

“I think we came really well prepared, there were a lot of strong discussions last night and this morning, and it has proved us well. McLaren are very good at preparing. Some people judge us for it, some people say we talk too much on the radio.

"But we prepare well, we go well, we discuss things and it’s gone well, we won the Constructors’ back in Singapore and today we made history again with Lando and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Joseph also went on to explain that Norris – who is now the 35th F1 World Champion and the 11th to hail from Britain – has made the team “stronger and stronger” by pushing them, after years of McLaren focusing on the driver’s own development.

“Each year you get better and better and we are at the point now where Lando is leading us, and he is more demanding of us and the table has turned," Joseph added. "At the beginning we pushed him and now he pushes us, we go away and we work harder."

As for one of the flashpoints of a gripping season finale, Norris admitted after the race that Joseph did not tell him he was under investigation for going off track and gaining an advantage when fighting Yuki Tsunoda – a sensible move not to distract Norris at a crucial part of the race, especially since the stewards opted to take no further action.

“I’m good at maths, I did a degree in engineering, said Joseph, when asked about that moment. "I can set-up a race car, I can work with engineers, that’s bread and butter for me, that’s easy.

“Psychology is not what an engineer is typically good at, so maintaining that psychology with a driver is the toughest bit of a race engineer’s job.

“So that’s what I found toughest. But that’s what we worked on, we have a very close relationship, it is very trusting. There are a lot of unspoken things, because there is the trust and it works, it really works."