Ever since his F1 debut in 2019, Lando Norris has carried the moniker of a future world champion. And McLaren’s meteoric rise up the grid post-2023 has enabled the #4 driver to become one of the hottest properties in the paddock. Last year, he even challenged for the world title while winning four Grands Prix.
With the sport’s allure growing in the USA exponentially, the 25-year-old has also become a poster boy for the sport across the pond. Naturally, with his growing fan following in America, the curiosity to learn more about Norris is always present.
Former NFL stars, Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder recently sat down with the McLaren driver on The Pivot Podcast, ahead of the 2025 Miami GP to discuss everything from his title ambitions to his plans for the future.
One of the things that the trio discussed with the five-time Grand Prix winner was Clark’s scheduled Hot Lap around the Miami International Autodrome. F1 has made a habit of installing A-list stars in performance vehicles for one blistering lap in the passenger’s seat at select race weekends. This time in Miami, it’s the former NFL Safety’s turn.
Full convo out night! Special Friday night drop! @Realrclark25 @FredTaylorMade @OfficialCrowder @LandoNorris pic.twitter.com/rXs2OnzB17
— Pivot Podcast (@thepivot) May 2, 2025
After wrapping up the interview, Taylor asked Norris to share some words of advice to Clark to help him prepare for the hot lap. Even though Clark was going to do the lap in a high-performance road car, the Briton gave advice, drawing on his F1 experience.
“You have to be able to brace against something because your neck will want to go forward,” he revealed. Norris was referring to the massive g-forces a human experiences when braking at high speeds.
In fact, Norris revealed that this is one of the most unnoticed phenomena in a race car and something even he wasn’t prepared for. “The one thing that catches most people out and even for me the first time I drove an F1 car was not the speed, was not the cornering, [it] was the braking,” he added.
Having the core stability and neck strength to endure the braking forces of an F1 car is no mean feat—even for F2 drivers. Last year, when Oliver Bearman made his cameo for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian GP, he left a dent on his headrest from the massive lateral g-forces his head and neck experienced throughout the Grand Prix.
Naturally, for a normal human being—no doubt an athlete—who has not endured such forces before, dealing with them even in a performance road car can be a tough task. Norris also opened up about the hefty physical demands of the sport that make it so difficult for even veterans of racing to cope with.
“I don’t think people realize the fitness needed to not just drive because I think a lot of people can just simply go and drive a Formula 1 car but to drive it with the precision [and] with the accuracy,” he concluded.
