Breaking news
Formula 1
Norris: I won't be someone I'm not when F1 resumes
McLaren's Lando Norris says he will not "try and be someone I'm not" when Formula 1 racing resumes, after saying he was at times "too jokey" in his rookie season.
Alex Kalinauckas
Edited: Apr 13, 2020, 4:17 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Norris has quickly become known for his humour – particularly on social media, as well as in the grand prix paddock – alongside an apparently easy-going relationship with his teammate, Carlos Sainz.
But he said at the end of his rookie season in 2019, where he finished 11th on 49 points, that "I've been almost been too relaxed and had too much fun", and added that at times he had felt he had been "too jokey".
Read Also:
Norris has gained further fame so far in 2020 with his exploits in Esports, which is having a surge interest as the coronavirus pandemic has led to the suspension of real-world racing, with his Twitch streams of online races – as well as those of other F1 drivers –attracting huge numbers of followers.
When asked if he planned to continue with his intention to be less jokey in 2020 when F1's season does eventually get underway, Norris told Motorsport.com: "Difficult to say.
"Once everything does go back to normal, I'm going have to switch my focus a bit more back to what I need to be doing once we are able to go back to McLaren and start working harder – go on the simulator and [work on] set-up.
"I won't be home as much, I wouldn't be able to stream as much and I'll have to take things a bit more seriously again.
"I'm not going to change; I'm not going to try and be someone I'm not. But I just need to make sure I just say the right things at the right time and not come across basically as someone who's just trying to be be jokey and not taking things seriously.
"I just need to be the same me - I can still make jokes and stuff. But I just need to make sure I'm seen as the guy who's focusing and every now and then makes jokes instead of is always joking and sometimes looks like he's focusing. That's all."
Norris said being seen as a figurehead for the current boom in motorsport Esports interest was "just a bonus".
"It is the only thing going on at the moment – it's the only really interesting thing for a lot of the motorsport fans and people that want to watch racing and watch us drivers," he added. "So then you just get on top of that a bit more interaction with a lot of people - a bit more media and stuff.
"I think it's a good thing not just for myself but for Esports in general, for sim racing. Because I think it's just expanding the racing world – more and more people are getting into it, the numbers are all just getting higher and higher in terms of people participating and everything."
You can read the full interview with Lando Norris in the latest issue of Autosport magazine – available in shops and online (https://www.autosportmedia.com/)
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Vettel: Ferrari culture often "misunderstood"
Next article French GP in jeopardy as government extends lockdown
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Alex Kalinauckas
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
More from
Lando Norris
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
8 h
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
More from
McLaren
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Latest news
When will Mercedes become F1 world champions in 2026?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
17 min
When will Mercedes become F1 world champions in 2026?
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
5 h
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
8 h
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
9 h
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe