LANDO HOPE & GLORY
Teen tells of mum’s joy over McLaren drive
HAVE you heard about the grand prix driver who shares a flat to save on the bills? Or about the multi-millionaire’s son whose most expensive gift to himself is an airbrush for which he saved up? Meet Lando Norris, who arrived as a confirmed Formula One racer with only a few pennies to rub together at the start of a career that could make him as rich as Croesus.
While Lewis Hamilton will bank £40million a year on his new Mercedes contract, the 18-year-old has agreed a three-season deal with McLaren worth £500,000 annually. Hardly a pittance, but not enough to prompt him to rush straight out for Monaco real estate brochures.
News of his elevation from Formula Two title contender and McLaren reserve driver to a race seat for the 2019 season — starting in Melbourne in March — was broken to him by Zak Brown, the team’s chief executive, only three days ago at the Italian Grand Prix.
Brown called Norris to his office on the first floor of the paddock motorhome and told him: ‘Welcome to Formula One.’ Norris took the news calmly.
‘My dad was with me, but, otherwise, I had to keep it quiet until it was announced, and then I got to tell everyone, including my mum,’ revealed Norris, who will partner Spaniard Carlos Sainz of Renault.
‘When mum found out, she was crying. She’s very proud. It has been a long time — 11 years — of me travelling and not seeing her much. So for her to know that I’ve now got to where I wanted to be makes her very happy.’
A tide of commercial and media interest may sweep over Norris’s head but, for the moment, he can relish the simple pleasures of life, such as his daily breakfast of Weetabix and full-fat milk.
His family, father Adam, mother Cisca, elder brother Oli, younger sisters Flo and another Cisca, live in Glastonbury, Som-erset, but he is sharing a flat with Formula Three driver Sacha Fenestraz in Guildford, Surrey, less than 10 miles from the McLaren factory in Woking.
Lando and Sacha race against each other on simulators in their time off and that gets competitive. Norris admits he was totally uninterested in his lessons at Millfield School, a renowned training ground for sporting stars. But he did not take to games either and hid on the wing in rugby to avoid injury.
A bad boy? No. He says the wickedest thing he has ever done was to steal a sweet as a five-year-old. He pretended he had been given it by his teacher. ‘I’ll ask her, then,’ said his mother. Rumbled! And his painting? ‘If I want to buy something for myself then I have to buy it out of money I have earned, so the most expensive thing I have ever bought is airbrush equipment for my painting,’ he said. ‘I like designing my own graphics. Having my own vinyl cutter, all the airbrushing equipment and paints comes to a hefty price. I sold stickers for the back of phones and that’s where I made some money. I like to paint my helmets. I design my own suit and boots. That’s my favourite hobby. That’s what I would do if I was not in racing.’ Finally, he nails one canard: that his name is derived from the Star Wars character Lando Calrissian. He says it is simply a name his mother liked. Either way, it is one we will grow accustomed to hearing over the next few years.