Lando Norris issues heartfelt tribute to Sebastian Vettel ahead of Saudi Grand Prix

Lando Norris has delivered a heartfelt interview about Sebastian Vettel at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after the four-time world champion publicly, and privately, extended his support to the McLaren F1 star.

Despite a P3 finish that maintained his place at the top of the drivers’ standings, Norris emerged from last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix with a rather negative outlook on his performance.

The British driver admonished himself for what he described as a ‘messy race’, and after qualifying revealed he was ‘not feeling good’ in his McLaren, with his downcast response shocking many.

However, Vettel recently praised Norris for his honest interview, and described him as a ‘role model’ for vocalising his broad range of emotions and criticised those who labelled it as a weakness.

Norris was asked about Vettel’s support ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP, and said to Sky Sports: “I saw what Seb said. Me and Seb talk every now and then, and he texts me always in the times when I need it the most.”

“I really love Seb, he’s always helping me and texting me, sending me little notes that I appreciate a lot. Especially from someone like him, I think it definitely means something.”

Vettel supports Norris after Bahrain frustration

Vettel returned to Saudi Arabia for his all-female karting event Race for Women this weekend, where he was also asked about the ongoing title fight and Norris’ comments in Bahrain.

"I think it's a positive development because we are normal people," Vettel said to Reuters.

"We do have normal problems just like everybody else.

"Heroism is fine but it's also part of the heroism to just talk about your problems and your weakness. I think that's a great development to see and to witness and, you know, real role models."

The four-time world champion also stated that Norris’ openness reflected a change of the times, where F1 drivers no longer have to portray themselves as strong or to hate their rivals in order to be successful, heralding Norris as a ‘role model’.

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