BOY RACERS
From kids in karts to F1, Norris and Russell are set for the drives of their lives
THEY laughed and joshed like two kids preparing for a gap-year job in a Melbourne pub. But behind the easy smiles lay nerves and excitement the sort of which they have never felt before. For George Russell and Lando Norris are not off to Australia to serve stubbies to the locals but to test themselves in front of a global TV audience stretching towards 100million.
A week today at the Albert Park circuit, Russell, who is 21, and Norris, 19, wil l j oi n Lewis Hamilton as British Formula One r acers, t here on merit and the most exciting newcomers produced in this country since the five- time world champion made his scintillating debut on the same Tarmac 12 years ago.
Russell will drive for Williams and Norris for McLaren, two teams who over recent seasons have rubbed along the floor of a sport they once bestrode.
That reality should limit expectations but, naturally, the pair of them were full of joy at the prospect of realising their lives’ dreams as they sat down in a London hotel for t heir only national newspaper interview together.
‘It’s a bizarre feeling to be on the brink of F1 because I have been so busy since I was handed the seat last year,’ said Russell, who beat Norris into second place in the 2018 Formula Two championship. ‘You do not get time to think about it. But when you mention Formula One, it feels pretty awesome.’
A few hours after the interview they flew to Melbourne separately, wearing dark glasses, not to conceal them from recognition — that level of fame has not yet arrived — but to help get themselves accustomed to an 11-hour time difference.
Russell, from King’s Lynn, adjusted his sleep pattern back a few hours while still in England. The night before he set out he went to bed at 2am. Norris, from Glastonbury, moved his bedtime forwards.
‘I wear sunglasses at airports, not to look cool or anything,’ said Russell, a stringy 6ft 2in to Norris’s more compact 5ft 8in. ‘It is to dim the light so you are getting in the right routine. I always wear my sunnies on the flight.’
Norris said: ‘ My glasses are slightly different. I have to wear a contraption. They have blue lights to help me wake up when I am on a plane and there is no proper sunlight. They can then block the light as well. They are not sunglasses — I am not that cool.’
But nothing can really prepare the duo for this week. Their families will be there in the background but they are now the property of their teams and will stay away from the loved ones who helped them immeasurably on their rise through the ranks. Russell has travelled with his own pillows — thin ones — to help him sleep. Norris used to pack his own mattress but, this being F1, team sponsors Hilton will cater for his every nocturnal requirement.
‘Formula One teams spend a fortune on getting an extra tenth of a second,’ said Russell, ‘so why not make sure everything is 100 per cent right with your sleep?’
The rookies have known each other through the years in karts and junior categories. Norris’s brother Oli was a contemporary of Russell, with Lando only belatedly pushing his nose on to the scene. ‘We are not friends as such — I have never been for a sleepover at George’s — but we talk sometimes and we get on OK, I think, don’t we?’ asked Norris. They seem to, at times quite touchingly. How long that will last is a question for a far distant day.
Both have been schooled by garlanded teams, Russell under Mercedes’ umbrella and Norris at McLaren, just as Hamilton was. Which brings up the subject of the world champion and his impact on them both.
Russell, who will race a substandard car that arrived late to testing and appears to have cost Williams’ t echnical director Paddy Lowe his job, said: ‘I have been in a fortunate position being around Lewis at Mercedes. I have seen him in debriefs and we have had a couple of flights together, when we could speak on a personal basis. I have seen how he makes it all work for him — an important lesson.
‘He works so hard instead of just relying on natural talent. There is no right way of doing it. You can’t say you can do it this way or that way and become a five-time world champion. You have to find a way that works for you. But Lewis works 24/7. There is so much glory but there are tough times to achieve your goals, to make it work.’
Norris, whose t emplate is Fernando Alonso, the double world champion who vacated the race seat at McLaren last year, said: ‘I once shook Lewis’s hand, at the press conference in Abu Dhabi in November, but I am not sure he said anything.
‘I don’t really expect anything more. He is at Mercedes so he will help George more than me.’ Williams are powered by Mercedes, McLaren by Renault.
The debutants are similar but different. Norris, the supreme millennial, does his training indoors and uses a cycling app. Russell, who likes the gym more, runs and cycles outside, enjoying getting himself dirty.
Neither has a fancy car nor a great hobby away from the track. Russell shops at Asda. Both do their own washing. Russell is more attuned to F1 history, even his fellow new boy concedes.
So what of next Sunday’s grand prix? ‘There are nerves,’ admitted Norris.
‘ A clean race, with no great mistakes, to act as a springboard,’ they agree is the aim.
That will do nicely for now, and time will take care of the rest.