Lando Norris urges F1 to kick out rude fans amid Mexico concerns

Norris, McLaren, Canada, 2022 — Photo: © LAT Images

Mexico City Grand Prix - Lando Norris

Norris urges F1 to kick out rude fans amid Mexico concerns

Fan behaviour in the F1 paddock has come under the spotlight in Mexico

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall

Sunday 30 October 2022 17:01

Lando Norris has called on F1 to 'biff out' rude fans from the paddock amid growing security concerns in Mexico City.

A number of drivers have called into question the behaviour of fans in the paddock at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with Pierre Gasly revealing the AlphaTauri garage was invaded by unauthorised visitors earlier in the weekend.

The security risk posed has required personnel to be securely driven into the circuit each day and 'bouncers' escorting drivers from their team paddock buildings to their garages.

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This has led Norris to suggest that stricter guidelines for those fortunate enough to acquire a pass should be enforced.

READ: Gasly reveals alarming fan behaviour as F1 security concerns grow

“I don’t know what can be done about it," said the McLaren driver. "It’s hard to know exactly what needs to be done, what rule or whatever.

“But a simple thing where they sign to collect the tickets [saying] ‘You must show respect and have the appropriate behaviour when you're in the paddock to the drivers, especially in the lead up to any session’.

“And if that’s not followed and people are aggressive and grab you all of the time, biff them out.”

Norris - 'Kids are kids, it's more the older fans'

Despite his hardline view on removing overzealous fans from the paddock, Norris was quick to add that not all act in a disrespectful manner.

In particular, the 22-year-old pointed to the aspect of meeting children who hold the drivers aloft as their icons.

"I love having the fans in here, especially when it’s kids and stuff and in a way, you can’t control what they do," he added. "Kids are kids, that’s cool.

"They’re looking up to us as being in our place one day and dreaming of what they’re doing and we’re their idols and heroes and so on. So for that, I think that’s cool, that’s fun, that’s life.

“It’s more the older people. There’s just not as much respect for personal space and things like that as there should be. They should feel lucky enough to be in the paddock and get to be as close as they are to us.

“Because it’s easy for us to always go around the back ways and have people literally shoving them out of the way and so on so that we don’t sign anything.

"But we want to do that and we're happy to do those things, and we want to walk down the paddock.

“There just needs to be a bit more respect from people for our personal space and boundaries.”