Not everyone in Formula 1 is like Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time champion fell in love with motorsport after his father bought him a remote-controlled car when he was 6. He fell in love with motorsport, and then he fell in love with F1, courtesy of Ayrton Senna. Most other drivers have this one person they looked up to growing up—the reason they started racing. For Fernando Alonso, like Hamilton, it was Ayrton Senna. For Sebastian Vettel, it was Michael Schumacher. And for Carlos Sainz, it was his father. Lando Norris, though? He’s different. His idol wasn’t an F1 driver or someone who raced on four wheels. It was (and is) nine-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi.

When the 23-year-old joined F1 in 2019, it was quite common to see him wear Rossi merchandise. Remember the fluorescent yellow ‘The Doctor’ bucket hat Sainz teased him about? That was Rossi. Have you noticed Norris’ love for fluorescent yellow in general? That comes from Rossi, too! Turns out, Rossi inspired more than just his clothing choices.

Lando Norris was all about Valentino Rossi growing up

Isn’t it intriguing how someone who first fell in love with motorbikes is now an F1 driver? The funny part is that it wasn’t even the motorbike part of MotoGP that got Norris interested in motorsport. In an interview with F1, the Brit revealed, “Initially, what got me into Valentino was just his colors. I was probably only five years old at the time, and when you’re at that age, it’s hard to like anything for a reason other than it looked cool!” The love for Rossi’s blue and fluorescent yellow started there, inspiring him to adapt it to his style.

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Helmets are one of the only pieces of race gear drivers have complete creative control over. To show his love for Rossi, Norris revealed his helmet design was based on Rossi’s design. “When I started competing myself, Valentino inspired my helmet design. I gave it to a helmet designer, and I was like, ‘I love Rossi!’ and he came up with one that was black chrome and orange,” he said. That helmet was from the 2009 season, Norris’ first full racing season when he was 8. The orange, chrome, and black were to match his kart. The graphics, though, were copied from Rossi.

“Rossi had ‘the Sun and the Moon.’ Mine was like ‘the Sun and the Sun,’ and it has been adapted and evolved a bit over the years.” Rossi always had the Sun on one side and a crescent moon on the other side of his helmet. Norris is more of a symmetry lover, so he went for the Sun on both sides. Even a decade later, when he joined F1, he stuck to the Sun design, but it has more of a Norris touch. 

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

Despite his love for symmetry, Norris let it go for one race in 2019 as he paid tribute to his forever hero.

Norris became Rossi’s ultimate fanboy in Monza 

Valentino Rossi—The Doctor—is Italian. Besides his striking colors, his Italian accent was another thing Norris found really cool about Rossi. Before joining F1, Norris had never watched a MotoGP race live. But in 2019, he got to watch the Silverstone GP and meet his idol. It must’ve left a lasting impression because it was enough to compel him to alter his helmet design.

A few weeks later, at the Italian GP, the Tifosi were obviously out to support Ferrari. But Norris made a good impression on them with his one-off helmet design as a tribute to another of the Italians’ favorites—Rossi. That entire season, Norris stuck to the blue and fluorescent yellow color scheme to match Rossi’s Yamaha design. But in Monza, instead of the two Suns, Norris unveiled a design with a Sun and a moon exactly like Rossi’s. He even wrote ‘Lando’ on the helmet in the ‘The Doctor’ design!

WATCH THIS STORY | Spectacular F1 Helmet Designs at 2022 Miami GP Ft. Daniel Ricciardo & Lando Norris 

Are you a fan of the special edition helmets that Lando Norris unveils occasionally?