When Lando Norris Used to Rebel Against McLaren’s Requirements to Turn Him Into a Professional Racer

Lando Norris has been a part of McLaren since his F3 days in 2017 as a junior driver. The Briton may seem like an innocent and obedient individual but he used to “rebel” against the Woking team in little ways back in his formative years as a racer. The managers and engineers at McLaren had to shape him up by being strict with him to turn him into the professional F1 driver he is now.

In the book, Lando Norris: A Biography by Ben Hunt, Carlos Sainz’s then-media manager, Charlotte Sefton, explained how they had to ensure Norris did not lose his way and had a disciplined life at Woking. Sefton highlighted how the Briton’s trainer and manager had told everyone that they should not “molly-coddle” him. She said,

“They told me not to give him any leeway when it comes to being late. They actually asked me to inform them if Lando was late or something was out of line because they wanted to mold him into a professional racing driver”.

Sefton also mentioned how they also had to ensure Norris adhered to the team uniform and gear to instill a sense of professionalism in him, besides punctuality.

How McLaren ensured Lando Norris didn’t lose his way in terms of discipline, punctuality, and being a team player

Credits: Lando Norris: A Biography by Ben Hunt pic.twitter.com/2owB5IUtws

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“We’d obviously been told that we had to keep Lando on the straight and narrow and he was forever trying to rebel by not wearing the right thing. He’d turn up not in team trainers or have something that was not team issue.”, she added.

This was about the same time when Carlos Sainz joined the team in 2019 and Norris had gotten the promotion besides him. Sefton mentioned that she used to give Norris Sainz’s example of being punctual and properly dressed to ensure the Briton followed the Spaniard and emulated his discipline.

Carlos Sainz’s brotherly bond with Lando Norris

Charlotte Sefton then also shed some light on how Carlos Sainz got along with Lando Norris, given he was the senior of the two. Having raced in F1 for four seasons, Sainz knew what he was doing and looked toward the young Briton as a “little brother”.

It was crucial that the Spaniard clicked well with Norris for two key reasons. One was that McLaren needed a good driver dynamic after starting afresh in 2019 with this duo and a new team structure with Zak Brown and Andreas Seidl.

Secondly, Sainz’s experience was going to help Norris to develop as a top driver and a team player in his first two years. Thankfully, the Briton made the most of his two years with the Spaniard and took the baton of the team’s lead driver, when the latter left for Ferrari in 2021.

Even after leaving McLaren, Sainz has maintained his close friendship with Norris. Two young competitors like them could have easily become rivals during their two seasons at the Woking team. Yet, the converse happened and Norris knows the role Sainz has played in shaping him as a top F1 driver.