F1 News
Lando Norris learning to deal with Formula 1 fame
- Bobby Vincent
McLaren driver Lando Norris has been compared to Lewis Hamilton in the past - with the pair both starting their Formula 1 careers at McLaren - albeit at different times, but Norris has not had to deal with the same publicity that the now five-time world champion had back when he started.
Norris has admitted he hasn't quite had to deal with the same levels of attention that the F1 superstar Hamilton used to get and still does to this day, but the recognition of the McLaren driver is certainly growing.
"The guy who runs the local shop, he knows who I am," Norris said in an interview with RaceFans. "Just walking down the street not many people would (recognise Norris).
"If you see Lewis walking down the street, I don't know if everyone would go 'that's definitely Lewis', I think you'd be a bit 'no, he wouldn't be walking in Guildford'. I came on the plane here on EasyJet and people were like 'you're actually flying on an EasyJet?'."
Norris is slowly getting used to the increase in publicity, though: "It's more when you come to the track, that's all. It's a cool feeling. It's huge: The following I had last year was already good but it's more than doubled since last year.
"Sometimes it's annoying when you want to go home. But at the end of the day, you think about it, it's nice having that feeling that people respect you, they look up to you.
"You know you get messages where they say - not just me - but drivers make their day or made their day and you made them smile. Those are the kind of things which make it much more worthwhile."