For a 22-year-old F1 talent who is expected to do big things in the sport in the future, the expectation is his journey would be inspired by one of the many greats of F1. Those like Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, and James Hunt. But that wasn’t what brought Lando Norris to love F1.

Lando Norris, currently driving for McLaren, is slated as the future of F1. He is expected to be challenging for the title very soon and forms part of the young generation of brilliant drivers like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. But his foray into F1 was not a product of Schumi’s magic or Senna’s aggression. He came to love this sport due to his attraction for MotoGP, courtesy of the legend “Doctor” Valentino Rossi.

He explained on a GQ video, “My race helmet. It’s not something I will carry with me day to day but it’s something which is very important in my life. Because it protects my life every weekend that I go racing.”

“This is one of the only things in Formula 1 that the drivers gets to have complete control of. And each driver shapes their personality, colors, whatever it is.”

“Growing up I was a massive fan of Valentino Rossi even though he’s in MotoGP. I got into that before I got into Formula 1. These colors were always inspired by him. I’ve tried to make it more me rather than a copy of him.”

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To have a 7x MotoGP champion and an absolute legend of the sport as his inspiration is perfect for a young driver. Rossi’s career is what every youngster must aim for in their racing careers.

What went on behind the design of Lando Norris’ helmet?

Lando has a very brightly colored and youthfully designed helmet. But it’s not public knowledge what went on behind the design of an F1 driver’s helmet. 

Norris explained in detail about it, “My logo here on the side, ‘L and N’ that’s my name. A lot of people don’t realize that I am also number 4. Like here. British flag, Belgian flag. For my dad’s side, and my mum’s side. My mum’s Belgian and not many people know that either.”

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“Not many people realize that if you look inside the L and the N, it’s number 4… The yellow and the blue are colors I have had for many years now. Especially the fluorescent yellow is kind of my color. It’s something I have had since I  started karting. Stands out, it’s bright it’s bold. This [pointing to the sides] is a little bit inspired by the Sun, again from Valentino Rossi.”

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The famously versatile Norris shows how varied his skill set is. A very beautifully designed helmet taking inspiration from one of the GOATs of MotoGP.