Lando Norris McLaren F1 says I won't change ahead of 2020 Formula One season

Norris

Norris: 'I just want to have fun' and 'I’ll be the same this year'

All work and no play would take away what we love about Lando

Sam Hall

Saturday 11 January 2020 12:33

Lando Norris appeared on stage at the Autosport International event in the U.K. and made it clear that he will not stop having fun in 2020, saying that he doesn't care what his critics say.

The king of memes in Formula One, Norris has quickly become one of the biggest personalities in the paddock. Through social media and online gaming, Norris gave fans an astonishing amount of access to his daily life in 2019 and he doesn't plan to stop this any time soon.

“I try to be [myself],” said Norris. “Formula One is quite enclosed. It’s a little world and not many people express or as normal as maybe they should be. People act and Formula One changes people in a way, but I just want to have fun.

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“I love Formula One and it’s everything I’ve dreamt of doing my whole life and everything I’ve worked towards, but at the same time I just want to enjoy every moment. Not just driving the car but it’s away from the paddock, it’s here – I just want to enjoy it, have fun and enjoy my life.

“I guess that’s what you see from the outside. It’s maybe a bit different from a lot of people. I don’t know.

“I have to get the balance right because at the same time, you get a lot of people that say it looks like I’m enjoying it too much and maybe not concentrating enough and everything, but I don’t really care what they say to be honest.”

Having previously been cautious in reviewing his debut season, Norris said that, despite initial nerves, he was pleased with how the year had gone.

“I was so nervous going out to Barcelona and also Australia," continued Norris. "I didn’t know how I was going to do. I was going with Carlos [Sainz] as my teammate who had been in Formula One for four-years, I was going up against 19 other drivers who were the best in the world – I didn’t know what to expect.

“I think, and I can now say, that I was very happy with how I did. I did better than I thought I would do and I’m not saying that’s because it was easy at all, but just because – as a team we worked so well. My engineers helped me to settle in, to get comfortable and to be able to do the best I can.”