Lando Norris' friend calls out parasocial F1 fans

Lando Norris in the Abu Dhabi paddock — Photo: © IMAGO

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Lando Norris' friend calls out parasocial F1 fans

F1's fanbase is getting out of hand

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 6 January 2026 21:14

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Lando Norris' close friend and business partner Max Fewtrell has called out the inexcusable actions of F1 fans, pleading with them to rethink their approach to the sport in 2026.

Fewtrell is the managing partner of Norris' content and lifestyle apparel company Quadrant but the British duo have been friends since their early karting days.

Fewtrell himself knows the demands of being a racing driver having also competed well into his teenage years, with his most notable career achievement being his title victory in the 2016 British F4 championship.

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But one thing the 26-year-old doesn't believe stars like Norris should have to deal with is attention from crazed F1 fans who stalk a driver's every move on social media.

After Norris clinched the 2025 championship in December, the Brit's fanbase could have been forgiven for going slightly mad, after all, it was his first title victory.

But personally messaging a close friend of his to critique the fact they had chosen to post Norris during the F1 off-season borders on parasocial.

F1 has a fanbase problem

During the sport's winter break, Fewtrell’s girlfriend Pietra Pilao compiled a New Year social post which originally featured Norris on the opening slide.

Norris was then cropped out of the image and is now nowhere to be seen on the updated post, with Fewtrell claiming Norris had to be cut out due to a sponsorship issue.

But then, F1twt went into full force (if you aren’t up to date on the past form of F1 Twitter then look no further than here to see the GPFans take on the problem with F1’s fanbase).

Screenshots quickly spread on social media that showed one fan who appeared to have directly messaged Pilao, criticising her for posting Norris’ face when he previously stated how much he values his privacy.

Luckily, this individual does not represent every Lando Norris fan and many flocked to the comments of the screenshots on 'X' to point out how inappropriate it was to contact an F1 driver's friend personally.

One fan commented: "People have lost their shame," whilst another added: "I hate this for Lando and his loved ones like what?"

Another comment pointed out the main issue here— that fans should stay as fans and not attempt to interfere in the personal lives and online activities of a driver's close friends and family.

"I don't understand how random fans think they know Lando better than his family, friends and girlfriend," the user noted.

What was Fewtrell's message to F1 fans?

This sentiment certainly appears to be one Norris' close friend agrees with.

In a stream which has been clipped up and shared on social media, Fewtrell gave out some timely advice following the social media drama, saying: "All I'm saying, 2026, try spread a bit of positivity, try not worry about such irrelevant things and what people post and what not, for what reasons.

"You don't know these people, even though you may sit there and think you know these drivers personally, which is sort of the issue, you don't."

The supporter of the McLaren champion then warned that fan behaviour was risking the future of F1's social media presence, adding: "This is why a lot of the drivers now just have their media teams posting for them, because they don't want to even look at their phone, there's no point. It will push everyone away from social media, where it should be a place where we share personal moments and just enjoy and support each other but it's not nowadays, that's not what it is.”

"I post any pictures with my mates who I've known for 15 years now, and it's a problem. You want me to just forget they exist then, and I spend most of my time of my life with them? Like what? Don't worry about what I'm posting! Worry about the race, the results. Support your team. Don't worry about the rest of this stuff, who cares!"

"Try do a little bit better, that's all... try [to] not spread so much hate and nastiness, just a bit more positivity that's all," Fewtrell concluded.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Lando Norris