“Often hated each other”- Lando Norris on reality of his relationship with Carlos Sainz

“Often hated each other”- Lando Norris explains that his relationship with Carlos Sainz was not all about laughs and jokes.

The bond between Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris looks warm and strong, as they kept the fans entertained off the track with their funny antics.

However, Norris claims that it is just a fraction of their overall relationship, and says that the competition in F1 compel them to hate each other often since the competition is hostile.

”There is always a tension between teammates, even when people say there is none. Sometimes you try to hide that tension like it was between Carlos and me.”

“We have also often hated each other. You don’t want to succumb to your teammate, and you don’t want to look bad. He is the last person you want to lose to,” Norris admitted to Motorsport-total.com.

”Even if you manage to put a smile on your face, deep down it hurts a lot, and you hate the other person just because they are so fast, do something you struggle with or because you just can’t keep up with them,” says the McLaren driver.

It worked out well

Simultaneously, Norris also states that the duo eventually clicked and had to work toward the team, which eventually worked out and glad that everything fell into place.

”I had never spoken to him before and didn’t know him, but we became friends off the track. On the track, however, we are rivals and good teammates. We want to take the team forward and win races.”

“On the other hand, we are also ambitious ourselves, but it worked very well. It was the perfect combination”, concludes Norris, who will have another tough task as a teammate in 2021: Daniel Ricciardo, as he replaced Ferrari bound Sainz for the 2021 season.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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