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Lando Norris' ex-girlfriend has delivered an intriguing message to the F1 champion following confirmation of their split. Portuguese actress and model Margarida Corceiro was at the heart of the celebrations after the McLaren star secured the drivers' championship at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December.

The British driver and Corceiro had been romantically connected for a while but only went public with their relationship last year. However, since Norris' championship success, the couple have parted ways.

He acknowledged the break-up during a private conversation with Carlos Sainz at pre-season testing in Bahrain. The Williams driver was caught on camera asking his ex-McLaren team-mate: "Are you and Magui good?" Norris responded "no" before seemingly adding that he's now a "single man."

When prominent young couples separate, they often create distance on social media, but that apparently hasn't happened with Norris and Corceiro. Before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix next week, Norris has posted images of himself wearing cold-weather gear on Instagram.

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He wrote alongside the post: "Left this draft in the freezer." Corceiro, who clearly still follows him, responded: "Nice pjs, u welcome," implying she had bought the item.

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However, the separation does seem to be confirmed. A source close to the pair told The Sun: "There have been tell-tale signs for a while now. They drifted apart after his win last season.

"The biggest hint came in Bahrain as he and his team continued testing ahead of the new season. Lando held a party to thank those who have been with him from the start and who he credits with helping him lift the title.

"Anyone who was anyone posed for a group picture. The only one who wasn't there was girlfriend, Magui. It naturally sparked rumours."

For the moment, Norris will be entirely concentrated on launching his title defence in Melbourne over the weekend of March 7-8. After one of the most significant regulation overhauls in F1 history, he has recognised there is work for his team to do in order to compete with their 'big four' rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

He said during pre-season testing: "At the minute, we're a little bit off, so to match the race pace of some of the others, we have to push a bit more and then we have more degradations.

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"I would love to [win], but I don't think there's like a responsibility. Always in life, I'll do my best to defend it and continue it, but it's a new season with loads of new challenges.

"It's not as simple as just continuing from last year and saying it's the same thing again. You know, at the minute, we have to improve the car quite a bit if we want to compete a bit more to be confident for the first race, but I feel confident."