Recently, Lando Norris has faced several negative comments on social media, with some labeling him as rude and arrogant. His on-track performances haven’t helped improve his image. Despite this, Norris has found unexpected support from veteran F1 photographer Kym Illman during these challenging times.
Illman dismissed claims that Norris is ‘arrogant,’ which arose from his reactions to McLaren’s strategy errors and mistakes during races. These incidents led a significant portion of the fanbase to turn against him.
As an F1 paddock insider, Illman has a firsthand view of what happens behind the scenes. Familiar with Norris and his personality, he emphasized that the McLaren driver’s reactions are driven by passion, not arrogance.
“I do see a lot of comments from people saying Lando is arrogant,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I just don’t see it. I get to see these guys every single day of the week but I see nothing but passion from Lando.”
Kym: “I do see lots of comments from people saying Lando’s arrogant… I just don’t see it… I get to see this guy every single day of the week but I see nothing but passion from Lando”
I love that people who know Lando personally have only good words to describe him pic.twitter.com/1XNKmfC4kY
— Dani (@landosmile) September 18, 2024
Norris has also faced criticism from the fanbases of other drivers, including that of seven-time World champion Lewis Hamilton. During the cooldown room incident in Hungary, Norris had a slightly heated exchange with Hamilton about McLaren’s performance, despite the 39-year-old’s attempt to offer a compliment. This incident put Norris in the bad books of Hamilton’s admirers, who have since targeted him on social media.
Lando Norris is the most annoying f1 driver in f1 history. can’t even take a compliment from the greatest♀️ https://t.co/4egIydJMHQ
— Leah (@bomigay) July 21, 2024
Successful Lando Norris hates watch. Today is a great day https://t.co/Ajp1RAni4t
— Luke Longmire (@Lukelongmire10) September 14, 2024
Norris also upset Hamilton fans in 2020. Reacting to Hamilton’s record-breaking 92nd career win, the then 20-year-old suggested that Hamilton’s success was largely due to having the fastest car. While Hamilton drove for Mercedes for much of his career and often had the most dominant package on the grid, Norris’s claim was not well received.
With these comments still fresh in people’s minds, Norris faces growing hostility. Tensions with his teammate Oscar Piastri have only made things worse. Piastri and Norris have been allowed to race each other, and with the former outperforming Norris recently, the jokes and negativity toward Norris keep increasing.
