Lando Norris Claims Lewis Hamilton Still Loves McLaren Because He Feels He “Owes” Something to the Team

Lando Norris has claimed in an interview with the Racing News 365 web portal (as quoted by soymotor.com) that Lewis Hamilton still loves McLaren because of the long allegiance he had with the Woking-based outfit. The 38-year-old had an allegiance of over a decade with McLaren as the team’s former boss, Ron Dennis, offered him an opportunity in the side’s driver development program in 1998 when he was just 13.

From that point on, Hamilton would continue to achieve success in the junior categories before McLaren finally handed him a race seat in their F1 team in 2007. The 38-year-old was highly impressive in just his rookie season in F1 as he finished second in the Drivers’ Championship before going on to win the title just a year after.

However, with Hamilton failing to win another title with McLaren, he finally ended his long relationship with the team in 2013 when he joined Mercedes. It is this reason why Norris has claimed that Hamilton still perhaps feels that he “owes” McLaren.

Lando Norris believes Lewis Hamilton still loves McLaren

In an interview with the Racing News 365 web portal (as quoted by soymotor.com), Lando Norris said, “He (Lewis Hamilton) still has a very strong respect and love for McLaren. He wants us to do well and it’s a very nice thing to see, as it was the place where he started his career. You always have that feeling, thinking that you owe something to the team with which you took your first steps“.

After stating the same, the 23-year-old explained how it was Hamilton that motivated him to join F1. Hence, considering that Hamilton was one of his idols, Norris feels strange to be racing against the Mercedes driver.

SWAPPING FOUR WHEELS FOR TWO! 🏁@LandoNorris returns to the @MotoGP with @Max_Fewtrell to visit @YamahaMotoGP, @FabioQ20 and @IvanOrtola48! 🏍️

Watch the full video here 👇👇
📺 https://t.co/wcgwDFB9SK pic.twitter.com/KzHYH9NVsl

— Quadrant (@Quadrant) August 9, 2023

The McLaren driver feels it is an honor for him to race against his compatriot, who is a seven-time F1 champion. However, it is pertinent to note that even though Norris has the greatest amount of respect for Hamilton, he is not afraid to hit back at the 38-year-old when his compatriot makes some claims he does not agree with.

Norris hit back at Hamilton for claiming Mercedes has a “bad car“

While speaking during the Hungarian Grand Prix post-race press conference, Lando Norris hit back at Lewis Hamilton when the 38-year-old claimed that Mercedes have a poor car. Norris was unhappy to see Hamilton complain about how McLaren have now overtaken the Silver Arrows in terms of pace.

“Mercedes were on pole here last year. And their car has been pretty good. I know Lewis complains a lot about how amazing our car is and how bad theirs is. But they don’t have a bad car and they haven’t all season,” explained Norris.

max: honestly i felt sorry for u in the first few races ☹️
lando: some people are like .. u know like yesterday lewis complained how tough it felt finishing outside 1st position? try racing in 19th and 20th 🤣 pic.twitter.com/8jU1QtJ35z

— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) July 23, 2023

The 23-year-old’s comments just did not end there as he also went on to add how Hamilton complained about it being “tough” to start outside first place. As a result, Norris advised his compatriot to try and start from 19th and 20th on the grid, the positions where McLaren started the 2023 season before their resurgence in form.