Every F1 driver has a unique path into racing, often sparked by an early fascination with motorsport. For Lando Norris, though, it all began with horse riding — an unexpected start for someone who later dreamed of MotoGP before ultimately choosing the fastest race cars in the world.
When Norris revealed the same to host Austin Evans, he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. But it makes for an interesting story, which brings us here. “Four legs, but that went away really quickly,” Norris said to Evans in an interview.
Riding horses made Norris love quad bikes, which were more off-road — an area in which he developed an early interest. “I loved rallying, motocross, quad bikes. I loved dirt racing more than I loved anything else,” he recalled.
Today? Oh yeah. Today was alright #BritishGP #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/R9U48YRwcN
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) August 25, 2019
From off-road four-wheelers, Norris got into motorbikes. “I loved Moto GP. At first, I wanted to go down that direction. But one day after school—and this is where everything clicked—we went to go watch a go-kart race, the British Championships…I was probably six at the time, and I’m like, ‘Dad I really wanna have a go’.”
Norris’ dad Adam Norris — one of Bristol’s wealthiest men — of course, supported that decision, and Norris started pursuing open-car racing more seriously.
Whether Norris would have succeeded in two-wheelers or rallying, will always remain a mystery. But what we do know is that in F1, he has made it big. McLaren noticed his talent in 2017, when Norris was just 18 years old and in 2019, he became a part of the F1 grid.
Norris’ ultimate dream of winning the F1 World Championship will have to wait a bit longer as he is on the brink of losing it in 2024 to Max Verstappen. However, he has established himself as among the best on the grid, which is something he likely never dreamt of the first time he rode a horse.
