Norris hits back at critics who dubbed him ‘Lando No-Wins’
Lando Norris says it was “a cool moment” when Donald Trump went up to congratulate him after he won his maiden grand prix in Miami on Sunday, revealing the former United States president told him he was his “lucky charm”.
Norris, 24, won his first Formula One race at his 110th attempt to spark joyous scenes in the McLaren garage and beyond, with rival teams and drivers almost to a man delighted for one of the most popular drivers on the grid.
Norris profited from a safety car mid-race to get into a winning position, but was full value for the victory, showing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a clean pair of heels in the final stint.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner later suggested Verstappen may have suffered damage to his floor in an earlier incident with a cone, but Verstappen said he did not notice anything amiss, giving Norris full credit for the win.
Afterwards, Norris recalled meeting Mr Trump, who was one of a vast array of celebrities from the worlds of sport, music and business who were in Miami for the race.
Trump is currently on trial in New York for allegedly paying hush money to a porn star. He was a guest of Formula One and of McLaren, whose garage he visited pre-race.
Norris said the 77-year-old was someone for whom “you have to have a lot of respect”.
“I didn’t see him in the garage, to be honest,” Norris replied when asked what it was like to have Mr Trump in the McLaren garage pre-race. “I was busy prepping for the race. But he saw me afterwards, and he came up to congratulate me.
“So I guess an honour, because whenever you have someone like this, it has to be an honour for them to come up to you, to take time out of their life, to pay their respects for what you’ve done.”
Norris added: “He said he was my lucky charm because it’s my [first] win. So I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now.
“But yeah, there are a lot of special people or cool people that have been here this weekend. Donald is someone that you’ve got to have a lot of respect for in many ways. And yeah, for anyone like that who acknowledges what you can go out and do and acknowledges the work ethic that goes into things, you’ve got to be thankful for that. And I was. So yeah, a cool moment. And that’s all.”
On the radio straight after his win, Norris – who is half-English half-Belgian – thanked his parents Cisca Wauman and Adam Norris, and dedicated his victory to his grandmother. In his press conference later, he smiled as he revealed that his dad, who normally attends his races, had chosen not to come to this one.
“I’m sure he’s regretting that just a little bit now,” he said. “But, yeah, I mean, my parents have been so supportive. You know, they’re the ones who are with you from the start. They allowed everything to happen. They’re the ones that got me into racing, supported me, and allowed me to get to Formula One, reach my dream, and do what I’ve loved to do since I was a kid. And I’m very fortunate for everything that they’ve done and the position they’ve allowed me to be in.
“So you just have these flashbacks of every moment, like... I just remember now being at a racetrack for the very first time in my life when I was five, six years old. My brother, my dad, and me just standing there and watching and just seeing the cars go by, to today, being on top of the podium. You think of those moments, and therefore, of course, I want to speak to my mum and dad, first of all, because you shared all those moments with them. And I just say a big thanks.
“And for my grandma, because she’s not been so well lately. I saw her last week, and I told her that I was going to win a race. I didn’t say when. I just said I was going to win a race. I didn’t think it would be coming this soon.”
Norris also thanked the boo boys on social media who, he said, gave him the motivation to keep coming back.
“I go on Instagram and I like all the comments of people abusing me, I freaking love it,” Norris said. “It makes me smile more than anything, especially ‘Lando No-wins’. That’s become a thing.
“So yeah, for me to finally prove those people wrong and prove to people that didn’t think I could go out and do it, it’s put an even bigger smile on my face today. So I thank all of them.”
The Briton, who made headlines last week when he cut his nose at a boat party in Amsterdam, finished by saying he would doubtless be enjoying another big night out.
“I mean, I was meant to fly, but Zak [Brown, McLaren CEO] just told me we fly tomorrow,” he replied when asked how he was going to celebrate.
“I’m not going to sleep. I’m going all the way. I might have more than just a scratch on my nose tomorrow, but I don’t care. I’ll enjoy my time. This only happens once when you’re taking your first win. It’s nice to do it here in Miami. I was kind of hoping it was going to be at Silverstone, but I’ll try to do it there as well.”
