“It’s Much More Difficult”: Lando Norris on F1’s Comparison With Soccer and Tennis

Anirban Aly Mandal
|Published Feb 14, 2024 09:46PM UTC

As Lando Norris geared up to kickstart his 2024 season by driving the MCL38 at Silverstone, the Briton gave an interview to UK’s This Morning. During his conversation, the 24-year-old compared Formula 1 to sports like Tennis and Soccer. However, in Norris’ opinion, Grand Prix racing is a far harder craft to master than the likes of the latter.

According to the Briton, sports like Tennis and Soccer offer a more accessible starting point. Hence, he believes it is easier to pick those sports up as a child. The same, however, cannot be said for racing, as per him.

“It’s (Racing) much more difficult. There’s a lot of aspects to it. The technical side – all of that ability to know how to develop, how to make a car quicker. Then there’s the side of driving, that I love,” explained Norris.

The McLaren driver also went on to reveal what it really feels like being in the paddock or on the pit wall and the cockpit. While it may look all easygoing and fun on television, Norris stressed how intense it can all get in the thick of the action during a race weekend.

Lando Norris and McLaren start 2024 season off with promising test run

Although private testing has been outlawed in Formula 1, teams can still get some miles under their belts in the name of ‘filming days‘. That’s exactly what McLaren was doing at Silverstone. Earlier in the day, the Woking-based team finally revealed the MCL38.

The team then quickly took to track as well. The conditions were wet, and Lando Norris got his first taste of the 2024 car, albeit on intermediate and wet tires as compared to the slicks he’ll be using the car on for most of the 2024 season.

Nonetheless, McLaren’s initial testing mightily impressed the Briton. While speaking to Sky Sports F1, Norris exclaimed about how happy he was to be back in the car and was happy for the team as they saw their hard work translating on the track.

A lot is expected of McLaren going into 2024. Despite starting the 2023 campaign in disastrous fashion, the team ended the season in splendid fashion. They finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship and registered a total of nine podiums.

Lando Norris finished in the top three on seven occasions, while Oscar Piastri managed two podiums. After such a stunning second half of the season with the MCL60 last year, the fans will hope that McLaren takes another huge step forward in this campaign.

Post Edited By:Vidit Dhawan

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About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.