Lando Norris shouldn't have apologised and Baku controversy is everything wrong with F1

If you haven't noticed, the biggest stars in F1 and sport in general tend to have two key components to them.

The first is, duh, talent. You have to actually be good at what you do in the first place to become widely known for it.

Secondly, a bit of character and charisma can take you from being just really, really good at what you do to being a megastar. There are of course exceptions, but this is a good general rule to go by.

Now lets look at the biggest names in F1, those that command attention and have the ability to back it all up. Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso are all multiple world champions and are never far away from being the top story in F1.

None of them are shrinking violets. If they have something to say, there is generally little filter to it (something Hamilton admitted to recently!) This gives them their own identity and gives F1 fans a bit more scope to know what they are seeing is the real deal.

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F1 fans don't want robots

You know what F1 fans hate. Fake displays, bland PR answers that leave you thinking you have just heard a robot. Drivers unwilling to do anything more than talk the corporate line and show nothing of themselves as a functioning human being behind driving cars fast.

Perhaps slightly more acceptable is just keeping your head low, having a positive personality and just getting on with the job. Drivers that are likeable and you can be pleased with their success... yet they don't captivate you because, well they don't have anything actually interesting to say. I don't want to call out too many names here because it seems needless and unfair.

Sadly though I do have to mention one and that is Lando Norris because he rather shot himself in the foot this week, and not for the reason you may suspect. (Sorry Lando, I know it's not the first time I've called you out but it's not out of any dislike.)

The world champion proved quite controversial at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend as he was a helpless passenger and collateral damage after Franco Colapinto torpedoed his Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly into turn one following the restart after the safety car.

Following the race, a fuming Norris went both barrels, slamming the reckless driving of Colapinto and even calling for him to receive a one-race ban.

The McLaren star took quite a bit of flack for this, and yet he was 100 per cent completely correct in what he was saying. It was a rare glimpse of the real Lando in saying it how it is and telling a few home truths.

Norris's real mistake

One day later, and the apologies come out. Back in your box, Lando and make sure you don't say anything else that might upset anyone.

This is frustrating because a big problem in F1 is the product is sanitised beyond belief a times. Apart from the aforementioned three names that couldn't give a damn, there is a dearth of characters in the paddock. Twenty five years ago you had Juan Pablo Montoya running his mouth, or even Jacques Villeneuve saying what needed to be said. We still listen to what they say now. I can't imagine many equivalents on the modern day grid still holding a captive audience in 2050.

We've seen how Norris is effectively gagged when he does interviews by his McLaren team, who sit beside him like he is a criminal and they are the duty solicitor making sure he says as little as possible.

Norris has even admitted as much, so what's the point of talking to him about anything if he is only allowed to say certain answers?

Perhaps worst of all, Norris probably feels cornered into apologising because no one was backing him up as he was getting slammed by Colapinto's fans, who don't exactly have a good track record when it comes to decorum.

F1 the FIA and even McLaren said nothing. Even Alpine released a statement condemning the abuse and that is the bare minimum.

Bring back ruthless Lando

Norris needs to stop backtracking on things he says just because some people might get upset. As an F1 world champion, his voice and opinion matter. Not everything Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna said was something we could agree on but it always came from a place of honestly, and that matters a lot.

So Lando, if you say something and you mean it, own it and move on. Stop letting people dictate what you have to say.

Your team and sport might cower away from defending you but as world champion and one of the best racers in the world you have agency to just tell it the way it is. Someone will have to once Hamilton, Verstappen and Alonso are gone.

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Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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