LANDO NORRIS has had a need for speed from a very young age – but his first Formula One win came after 109 previous attempts to take the chequered flag.
Britain’s new race ace, who roared to victory in the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, made his F1 debut five years ago — whereas fellow British track star Lewis Hamilton took his first win in only his sixth Grand Prix, in Canada in 2007.
Lando, 24, began racing aged seven and was competing in kart racing by the age of 13.
He won the karting world championship the following year, 2014 — taking the title from Lewis — before he shifted to car racing the same year.
In 2015 he started racing in the F4 championship, the usual route via F3 and F2 to F1, signing as a junior driver for McLaren in 2017.
Lando, who dedicated Sunday’s superb win to his grandma, already made history as the youngest-ever British driver in F1 in 2019 aged 19.
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Public school
He is now understood to have a four-year deal with McLaren worth £80million.
Only Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are paid more.
Not that Lando was short of money before.
He is the second child of businessman Adam Norris, who has a £205million fortune, and Belgian mum Cisca.
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He grew up in Glastonbury, Somerset, with his older brother Oliver and younger sisters Flo and Cisca, and went to nearby Millfield public school, where boarding fees are more than £40,000 a year.
But he left before taking his GCSEs as his star began to rise — slowly but surely — in the motorsport world.
After Sunday’s triumph his dad told Sky Sports: “It’s been a long time coming, I think everyone is saying it.
“It’s been amazing, you’ve seen 110 [Grands Prix] but I was working it out, it’s probably about 900 races I’ve been to over the last 16 years. It’s been a long time, but it’s there — we got there.
“I counted out 350 weekends away, and then all the other races on those weekends, but it’s brilliant, I love it. I’m so happy for him.”
Lando’s parents were not in Miami for the race, but saw it on TV at home, like countless fans worldwide.
But Adam was sent a text by Lewis’s dad acknowledging the win and the sacrifices the family had made to get Lando into the top spot.
He had previously come second eight times, making Sunday’s victory seem even longer in coming after years of striving to make it.
After growing up in Somerset he moved to a mansion near the McLaren headquarters in Woking, Surrey, but last year he moved to tax haven Monaco — like many of his fellow racing drivers.
He said the move was so he could ensure he could “look after my things for my future”, and so that many of his friends and family can visit.
However, it is believed he still owns a £20million pad in Surrey, should he ever need to be in the UK.
He also owns a fleet of road-going supercars, including a £300,000 McLaren 765LT Spider and a £1million McLaren Senna, and he is understood to have a £350,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith and a £28,000 classic 1950s open-top Fiat Jolly.
It seems Lando is having the last laugh on childhood bullies, who targeted him over his stature — he is 5ft 6in — which also led to mockery on the karting track as a youngster.
Now he is one of the most loved stars on the F1 circuit for his down-to-earth attitude — such as his willingness to get his hands dirty.
After the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix he was spotted sitting cross-legged, in his own world, unscrewing bolts from his car.
McLaren boss Zak Brown has watched him bloom since he first signed with the company in 2017, and said: “He used to be extremely shy, and he still is to a certain extent. Now his manner is more extroverted, but not in a loud way. Although he was uber-fast from day one, his race craft and maturity is now at another level.”
Despite all the privilege and adoring crowds that come with being a professional sportsman, Lando has not let it go to his head.
The favourite thing about his job, ahead of the cars and money, is his young fan base.
‘Lucky charm’
He said: “For me, the coolest thing is always seeing the kids, that I can relate to the most.
“I remember being there with my dad. We waited just outside the gates.
“The world of F1 was so big and I was tiny. I didn’t even know what the gates were, we were waiting for Jenson Button to come out. I can relate to being a kid and seeing someone — me, Lewis or George [Russell] or any driver. Seeing them and thinking, ‘Wow, I want to be like that one day’.
“It is weird that they think that of me. It’s a bit surreal but I can relate to that and I want to give back.”
One unlikely member of the Lando fan club appears to be Donald Trump, who congratulated him after his Miami win on Sunday.
Lando said: “He said he was my lucky charm because it was my win, so I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now.
“But yeah, there’s a lot of special people, cool people, that have been here this weekend.”
Lando dated Portuguese model Luisa Oliveira from August 2021 to September 2022, leading to abuse from trolls who took offence at the relationship.
Luisa even suffered death threats, and Lando said: “Whether it’s about my personal life, me and my girlfriend, especially the amount of hate pages dedicated to Luisa now, it is pretty horrific.
“They are on Instagram and Twitter, they are the main ones.”
I don’t mind when people ask for a selfie. Of course, it’s maybe not the nicest thing when you’re in the middle of dinner. But I feel like I can’t say no
Lando
Lando also got targeted for any driving mistakes on the track and for being part of a British racing team.
He has called on social media to do more to tackle the trolls, but insists he does not let it bother him.
He said: “What I find the funniest in a way is people are actually spending their one life on Earth just sat behind a computer trying to ruin and bully someone.
“When people are creating fake pages and fake chats, and fake Whats-App messages, then I am like, ‘You’re actually spending your life doing that?’ They’re wasting their life.
“Not enough gets done. I report the things I see but there are so many, I don’t have time to go through them all.”
Despite the abuse, Lando appreciates his fans and is happy to meet them when they approach him.
He once said: “I don’t mind when people come and do it. Of course, it’s maybe not the nicest thing when you’re in the middle of dinner and people come and say, ‘Can I get a quick picture please?’
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“But I feel like I can’t say no. I feel like they’d hate me and they wouldn’t be my fan any more.
“Maybe I need to start saying no a bit more often. But I struggle to.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
