Hoping to become a professional F1 driver, Lando Norris had the gods of luck on his side as he was born into an affluent family. With his father’s net worth being around $250,000,000, money was never an issue for the Briton. He has often been called a ‘pay driver’ with rumors suggesting Norris’ father paid money to McLaren so he could drive for them. However, in an exclusive interview with Race Fans (further covered by F1 Maximaal), Lando Norris reveals he had a deal with his father that barred him from paying for a ticket to drive in F1.
Norris realizes luck has favored him more than many other drivers in F1 but claims it was his hard work that helped him get through the door. After winning the British Young Driver Award, Norris earned a role on the simulator for McLaren before earning his first paycheck.
Lando Norris did not let his father pay for his entry to F1
Norris spoke to Race Fans with a sense of honesty that is rarely seen these days. He called himself lucky to be in a group so exclusive that only 20 people were in it. The 23-year-old understands the skill and determination it takes to be where he is and asserts that his hard work took him to the spot. While many reports have suggested that Norris was in F1 because of his father’s money, the British driver rubbished all claims by revealing a deal with his father.
“I made that deal with my father. We made sure he wouldn’t pay for me to get into Formula 1. And so it went. Ultimately, I ended up at McLaren.”
Norris has shown a lot of promise during his time with the Woking-based team, and many tip him to become a world-champion driver in the future. However, he hasn’t been off to a flying start in that direction, as the 23-year-old remains winless in his F1 career so far. Of the 96 GPs he has raced in, the best finish Norris could achieve was a P2 finish on two occasions.
The Norris-McLaren relationship
Norris joined McLaren in 2017 as a junior driver after Zak Brown labeled him a fabulous driver. Two years later, the British driver earned his promotion to an F1 seat and partnered with Carlos Sainz Jr. Since then, Norris has been with McLaren and claims to owe them a lot. He shares a strong bond with the team and hopes to achieve success with them in the coming days while hoping to continue a long relationship with the team.
Lando Norris has brushed off the significance of his contact with Oscar Piastri during the #ItalianGP 🇮🇹
“We respect each other and give each other space. The accident was just an unfortunate accident.”#F1 #Formula1 #McLaren pic.twitter.com/MHrQrcsdKh
— McLaren F1 News 🏴🇦🇺 (@TheMcLarenZone) September 5, 2023
The 23-year-old has always been the younger driver on the team, having partners such as Sainz or Ricciardo, but with the addition of Oscar Piastri to their lineup, Norris now finds himself playing the role of a senior driver on the team, something he wasn’t looking forward to so early in his career.
The younger of two young drivers has also shown immense talent in the early part of his career, often challenging Norris on the track. However, the senior driver maintains his superiority with 79 points and two podiums as opposed to 36 points and no podiums so far.
