“I Would Be Leaving That One for Danny Ric”: Lando Norris on Oscar Piastri’s Possible F1 Intro Pose

A video recently surfaced online showing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri behind the scenes during a shoot for the F1 driver introductions. In the clip, the two discussed their experience with the shoot, and when Piastri demonstrated his pose, Norris insisted he wouldn’t be doing the same.

Norris was getting ready for his turn when Piastri came into the dressing room with a smoothie. He asked the Aussie how his shoot went, to which Piastri replied, “they made me do like.. that one”, as he demonstrated the pose by punching the air with his fist. 

Norris immediately said that he wouldn’t be doing that. “I’ll leave that one for Danny Ric,” he added. 

Presumably, Norris didn’t want to commit to doing a pose that could become a meme online, as his compatriot George Russell did in 2023. The Mercedes driver did a t-pose for his introduction video, which became popular online, and later became his post-race celebration.

What that did, however, was create new expectations. Viewers wanted drivers to come up with unique poses, which would make them stand out in the introductions. That is probably why Norris wanted his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo – who has a jovial personality – to try them out instead of him.

F1 intro poses that turned drivers into internet sensations 

Russell didn’t take the t-pose memes negatively and played along with the banter. Mercedes’ social media admin even provided fans with a blank template to create their own memes involving the Kings Lynn-born driver.

But he wasn’t the only star whose introduction pose went viral. In the same video, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc rested his arm on the wall and slowly lifted his head, which the internet interpreted as a look of sorrow.

Whenever Ferrari messed up a strategy or Leclerc made a mistake, a GIF or screenshot of Leclerc’s ‘sorrowful’ pose would be shared widely on social media, for fans to showcase their disappointment.