Lewis Hamilton is the senior statesman of F1 now. He is the third oldest driver, at 36, on the grid behind Kimi Raikkonen, 41, and Fernando Alonso, 39. So, he’s begun to be a wise figurehead for the next generation of drivers like Lando Norris and George Russell.

After Norris made an error during qualifying in Imola, Hamilton posted an inspiring message for him on social media. For F1 fans, it was inspiring to see a driver support his peer, considering the relatively self-centered nature they usually show. But what did Norris make of Hamilton’s public support for him?

“I think it was something that was nice to see,” Norris told Express Sport ahead of the Portuguese GP.

While one would have expected his McLaren crew to offer him their backing, nobody could have predicted what Hamilton did in the aftermath. Hence, it was a pleasant surprise for Norris, especially as it came from a veteran of the sport.

He added, “I guess that’s the different thing, seeing it from a driver – rather than a fan or engineers, or mechanics, or the group around you. They’re always there for you, to try and be positive and help you get up, and help you get through the bad times.

“But also to see it from a driver, someone who’s actually gone through that in the past few years, or his 12-15 years of F1, that kind of means a little bit more because you know that they’re speaking the truth… It’s not like it changes my life, but it’s definitely a cool and nice thing to see from driver to driver.”

Lewis Hamilton feels that F1 drivers ‘need to be supporting each other’

Norris wasn’t the only one whom Hamilton consoled in Imola. He also had his compatriot, George Russell’s back, following his crash with Valtteri Bottas and the criticism that followed. Perhaps Hamilton was in a generous mood that race weekend? Or he simply understands the value of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his fellow racing drivers –

“We are all human beings, we have a lot in common, we are all so focused on naturally beating each other but there’s a lot of really good people here and I think we really need to be supporting each other.”

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These guys have a tremendous amount of respect for each other and what they do on the track. Hopefully, this encourages Russell and Norris to keep pushing. And in the future, they themselves can act as mentors for the next generation.

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