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Every racing fan will have a hero when they grow up watching races. Many become race drivers following the footsteps of their racing heroes and many even compete with their idols.
In Formula 1, many drivers have competed with their racing idols after entering the sport. For example, Sebastian Vettel’s racing hero was Michael Schumacher and he competed with him after entering Formula 1. George Russell Racing's hero was Lewis Hamilton and he, not only raced with him but also became his teammate after coming to Mercedes.
Now, McLaren’s Lando Norris finally broke the silence on his racing idol before taking racing as a career. Lando Norris said he never had any one particular racing idol as he takes little pieces from many drivers. But he has a racing hero and that is not his fellow countryman Lewis Hamilton.
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Norris's inspiration was a MotoGP legend
lando: I've never had someone in F1 that was my hero or someone that I looked up to, I respect everyone and you always try to take little pieces from every driver [..] but the guy I always looked up to and the guy I admired the most was always valentino rossi pic.twitter.com/zrqg4TQCDR
— Remi (@l4ndocore) November 1, 2024
Lando Norris's racing hero was the MotoGP legend and Multi-talented Valentino Rossi. Talking about him, Norris said, “I've never had someone in F1 that was my hero or someone that I looked up to, I respect everyone and you always try to take little princess from every driver. But the guy I always looked up to and the guy I admired the most was always Valentino Rossi.”
The 9-time world champion is not only the hero for Norris, but many people around the world consider him as their racing hero and many admire the Italian legend. They stick VR46 numbered stickers on their cars and bikes which is used by Valentino Rossi on his bikes and cars.
Valentino Rossi himself was a Formula 1 fan as he once tried to become a Formula 1 driver, but then moved on to GT racing. He even swapped his bike and drove a Formula 1 car with World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Norris is now battling for his first Formula 1 world championship against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with three races remaining on the calendar. McLaren had an average weekend in Brazil despite Lando Norris starting from the pole position in the rain-hit Interlagos circuit, which hampered his chance at the title.