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Lando Norris Hopes To Emulate Childhood ‘Hero’ Valentino Rossi With a Career in Endurance Racing

Published 06/03/2022, 12:47 AM EDT

For a Formula 1 driver, their idol is everything to them. They are the biggest reasons why drivers get into racing. And while names like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher resonate heavily among drivers of today, Lando Norris has someone else he looks up to. Norris’s idol is former MotoGP rider, Valentino Rossi.

In a recent interview, the McLaren driver gets candid about his hero.

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Norris is still a fan of MotoGP hero despite his retirement

Lando Norris has always raced in four-wheelers. From karting to Formula 1, Norris has never driven anything on two wheels. And yet his idol Valentino Rossi inspired him to get into racing. Lando has never shied away from praising Rossi when he can and is currently supporting the Italian in the GT World Cup Challenge Europe.

Lando insisted that even though Rossi has retired from MotoGP, he still supports the Doctor whenever he can. He began, “I still watch his races: GT races don’t take me as much as MotoGP races, but I still try to look at them.”

“He’s not fighting for the win, so it’s not as exciting as before, but he and I are still talking. Just the other day we exchanged messages. He is still my hero from when I was a child ”.

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Commenting on whether or not he would like to drive with his hero in endurance, Norris revealed his desire. Immediately he said, “Definitely yes.”

“Obviously it’s not something that simple to do now, considering how many races we have in Formula 1, but it is undoubtedly something I would love to do”.

Lando Norris’s history with endurance racing in 2018

Endurance racing isn’t something new for the Briton. He made his debut on the big stage in 24 Hours of Daytona back in 2018. Stepping out of the shadow of then McLaren driver, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris produced a master class of a drive at just 18-years of age. “Every time I went out on track I had a lot of fun – that was the whole idea of doing it,” Lando said.

“It’s more of a team game from what I’m used to – you want to do good for everyone. The team worked really hard since the Roar to improve the car.”

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Fernando Alonso too was impressed by Lando’s performance back then. He was particularly surprised by how quickly Norris had adapted to the car.

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Lando has been making a name for himself in F1. But it would indeed be a very cool idea to see him in endurance races. What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Written by:

Vaibhav Aatreya is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. His ever-growing passion for the sport, combined with his willingness to learn the inside workings of Formula 1, led him to pursue his graduation in Mechanical Engineering. Having been following the world of motorsports for many years now, Vaibhav loves to pen down his thoughts, giving his take on the ongoings in the sport.

Edited by:

Ankit Sharma

Lando Norris Hopes To Emulate Childhood ‘Hero’ Valentino Rossi With a Career in Endurance Racing

Norris is still a fan of MotoGP hero despite his retirement

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Lando Norris’s history with endurance racing in 2018