Lando Norris admits that some of the things he sees people do on F1 Twitter makes him feel very uneasy and creeps him out.
Lando Norris is one of the most popular F1 drivers on the grid today. The 22 year old has millions of fans worldwide who follow him on his social media accounts. He is also an avid streamer on twitch and often spends his free time on that platform.
In the recent global F1 survey, Norris was voted as the 2nd most popular F1 driver ahead of Lewis Hamilton and behind Max Verstappen. However, this rise in popularity came at a cost.
Earlier this year, the McLaren driver spoke about how he suffered from mental health issues. Social media was cited as one of the main reasons as to why he had to endure those lows.
Lando Norris has bravely opened up again about his mental health struggles as a rookie. https://t.co/VdNy11UAcU
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 5, 2021
The young Briton has always been appreciative of the love and support he receives. But, a certain section of the online community labeled as ‘F1 twitter’ consists of people who resort to doing things that make him uncomfortable. Norris has felt this since his F1 debut back in 2019. However, he only opened up about it recently.
“I think the one bad thing is just personal life with friends. People who through no fault of their own get put into the spotlight sometimes. Because of being seen with me or me following them on social media or something.” Norris said in a recent interview.
Also read: Lando Norris eager to race with boyhood hero and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi
There are a lot of nasty fans who are just not nice, says Lando Norris
Norris feels that his personal life gets invaded by the people who stalk him on social media. There have been times when he was out with his friends enjoying a dinner, only for people in groups showing up to interact with him.
“Sometimes if I’m just at dinner with friends… honestly 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?'” he said
“But I feel like I can’t say no! I feel like they’d hate me and they wouldn’t be my fan anymore. I hate saying no, that’s a problem sometimes, maybe I need to start saying no a bit more often. But I struggle to.”
“Oh my good look who I ran into” says someone from F1 twitter when they spend 3 hours standing in front of the hotel where Lando Norris stays at.
— sominslc (@sominslc1) November 24, 2021
“I think that’s been the worst side of it. Someone who is just quiet on their own and they’re seen with me at dinner or on a post on Instagram.” Norris continued.
Also read: Lando Norris rues Pirelli tyre puncture in Qatar as Ferrari extend lead over McLaren in fight for P3
“There’s still a lot of nasty fans. A lot of fans which are just not nice and just use a lot of people and things like that.”
“Honestly, it’s very creepy what some people do. The time they spend trying to investigate things or people or whatever.” said Norris when asked about his followers on Twitter.
“I just laugh and find it very funny, but it’s very weird. It’s just odd.”
“The abuse directed at my friends is just disrespectful”
Lando said that he has learnt how to manage his public and personal life after 3 years in the sport. However, he does not not understand why his friends or family are brought into matters that don’t concern them.
The McLaren star shared the kind of abuse his friends deal with. He said that through no fault of theirs, they are brought into a conversation, and made fun of.
“It’s disrespectful, I feel, to someone who through no fault of their own, I guess because they’re my friend or something, gets abuse on social media because someone doesn’t like the top they wear and it’s because they’re friends with me… crap like that.”
“That’s the only thing I really hate about being in the position I’m in now.” said Lando.
