For the fans and the cameras, McLaren’s Lando Norris seems to be the guy who is a social animal. He’s often spotted with his fellow drivers, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. More often than not, you’d also catch him with DJ, Martin Garrix in Monaco.
That said, for the first time probably, Norris opened up about his personality. And as it turns out, the four-time Grand Prix winner is as anti-social as anyone can be. Speaking on the Fast and the Curious podcast, the McLaren driver revealed his off-season holiday plans.
“I did my little yearly Finland trip, which is my get [to] away from people. You know, over the years I’ve learned more and more [that] I don’t really like people,” Norris said.
While he expressed his dislike toward people in humorous spirits, the 25-year-old has previously stated how people have invaded his private space whenever he is enjoying his leisure time.
Norris lost his patience when details about his travel plans started to leak on social media last year. The McLaren man wasn’t a fan of how fans were tracking down his movements at airports and clicking his snaps without his approval. He also highlighted how people have interrupted him during meals in a restaurant, particularly in Monaco.
⚠️ | Lando Norris admits the world of social media can be “creepy”.
“I’d say that’s the worst thing… the people who don’t respect your personal life. Honestly, it’s creepy what some people do”.
— formularacers (@formularacers_) November 25, 2021
Given that F1 drivers spend almost 10 months of the year traveling from race to race, they need time to relax. So, any driver would react like Norris and detest any additional spotlight given by the fans.
The 2024 season would have been a tough one to endure for the British racing ace. In the past, he has been quite selective about claiming any drivers to be a close friend of his. One amongst them was Max Verstappen.
But as a title battle intensified between the duo, incidents on track have appeared to cause a rift in their relationship. One of the most apparent examples of this was at the 2024 Austrian GP.
Can Norris and Verstappen maintain their friendship?
The race at the Red Bull Ring was probably the first time that Norris and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel with high stakes. It ended up pretty badly for the Briton who lost out on the win after clashing with Verstappen.
In the aftermath of that incident, Norris even proclaimed that if the Dutchman did not apologize, he’d have lost all respect for him. That wasn’t the end of the matter, though. The races at the Circuit of the Americas and Mexico City also saw the duo bang wheels and rack up penalties for coercive driving.
But as the season progressed, it would appear that the duo had patched up their friendship to an extent. Having said that, going into 2025, the complexion of the championship threatens to raise tensions among them once again.
Norris is being touted as the favorite to bag his maiden title and end Verstappen’s dominant run. But if the Bulls can reconfigure the RB21 into a front-runner again, the duo will come wheel-to-wheel again and this time, the gloves might really come off.
