“Lando I Can Cut Grass Too”: George Russell Makes a Sly Dig at Norris While Endorsing for Sponsors

While chasing victory in Japan last weekend, Lando Norris ended up becoming the source of one of the biggest memes in F1 this season. His MCL39, which cost tens of millions of dollars to build, was compared to a lawnmower.

Norris had just pitted for new tires on lap 22, the same time as race-leader Max Verstappen. While exiting the pit-lane, the ambitious Briton saw an opportunity to make a move and overtake Verstappen. However, he simply didn’t have much space, which resulted in his car going off the track into the grass.

After the race—which Verstappen ultimately won, finishing ahead of Norris—the Red Bull driver joked about Norris’ move, saying, “Yes, I think the grass was not really well cut on the right-hand side, so I think, yeah, Lando saw that as well and made sure it was nicely cut.”

Now, Mercedes’ George Russell has joined in on the joke, taking a shot at Norris in a sponsorship video for Einhell Detach.

Einhell, a German company specializing in garden tools and equipment, is a sponsor of Mercedes. So Russell appeared in a video, hilariously showcasing himself ‘bored and alone’ at home, until he started mowing lawns and cutting hedges.

The video on its own did not contain any Norris references, but upon sharing the same on his story, Russell wrote, “Lando, I can cut grass too.”

It was a joke waiting to happen, and the timing of a grass-cutting equipment advertisement couldn’t have been better. Even before Russell had taken to his stories to poke fun at the McLaren driver, fans in the comments under Einhell’s post had started talking about Norris. “The perfect ad to Lando after Suzuka,” a user wrote, bringing in over 6k likes.

With McLaren ahead, Russell may hold the jokes

It was a well-received comment—one that will stay funny for quite a while. After all, it was a slip-up from Norris at Suzuka, and it did seem to be his fault. So, naturally, Russell would have had his fun making jokes about it.

But when it comes to on-track pace at the moment, Norris will have the last laugh.

McLaren appears to be the fastest team on the grid, with both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri finishing in the top three in each of the three rounds so far. Russell knows this, which is why he will be wary of making too many grass-cutting jokes, moving on.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the best of McLaren yet. It’s been cold races. And, in Bahrain with 35 degrees and Saudi 37 degrees, we should see them excel. We are normally good in cool conditions,” the British driver said after the Japanese GP.

That said, the Woking-based squad is not invincible.

Verstappen showed in Japan that the two McLaren drivers are vulnerable to making mistakes, which he can easily capitalize on. The Dutchman grabbed pole, led the majority of the race, and crossed the chequered flag in P1. It was a performance Russell, who will also be looking to start winning races this year at some point, could take notes from.