As a part of the PR duties and marketing, F1 drivers often take celebrities for a hot lap around the circuit. Lando Norris took Michelle Rodriguez for a ride around the Miami circuit. This time around, the McLaren driver took Rally Driver and Quadrant Athlete Oliver Solberg for a spin around Silverstone.
Solberg is a Swedish Rally driver who’s the son of Norwegian 2003 World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg. The Swede became the 2018 RallyX Nordic Champion and 2019 FIA ERC1 Junior Champion before joining the World Rally Championship. He joined Norris’ Quadrant Athlete program at the start of 2024.
Lando Norris racing Oliver Solberg at Silverstone!@Quadrant via YouTube: pic.twitter.com/QWoR6LvB8B
— McLaren Updates (@McLarenUpdates_) September 26, 2024
Quadrant Athlete’s YouTube channel uploaded a video where Norris took Solberg for a hot lap around Silverstone. Solberg had met with the other McLaren team members but was meeting Norris for the first time. The Briton mentioned he usually goes a little overboard during the hot lap whereas the passenger stays calm.
Norris explained how it was the first time that he’d be taking someone who drives professionally out for a hot lap. The duo went out for a hot lap in the McLaren 750s and the Brit spun the car around in the first lap. Norris asked for a front wing on the car as it was sliding all over the place. Nonetheless, he did appreciate the braking on the car.
Once the hot lap was over, Norris and Solberg went out to race in the 750s. The Swedish driver was in the lead coming out of the pits and maintained it for the better part of the lap. However, Norris put pressure on Solberg by going alongside on the Hangar straight. The rally driver out braked himself and went straight on into Stowe as Norris took the lead.
Regardless, Solberg did better than most of the celebrities who’ve been on a hot lap with Norris. Jimmy Butler was scared for his dear life and was clenching anything he could grab during the hot lap. Norris has also taken many Sky Sports and F1 presenters on hot laps like Alex Jacques, Natalie Pinkham, and Rachel Brookes.
