Lando Norris is one of the brightest and most exciting young talents in Formula 1.
He’s also one of the most popular drivers on the grid, thanks to his approachable, down-to-earth personality and humorous banter with his fans on social media. Here are 8 interesting facts about a driver that Tillett has supported throughout an amazing career to date.
Lando Norris earned the nickname 'Last Lap Lando' due to a remarkable physical and mental ability to push himself to the absolute limits right until the conclusion of a race.
The nickname was first coined when a sensational attack on the last lap saw him pull back a 1.5 second deficit on Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Austrian GP, setting the Fastest Lap, and closing the gap to Hamilton, who had picked up a 5 second penalty.
Born in Bristol, Lando's father, Adam Norris, is a retired multimillionaire financial entrepreneur who currently leads Pure Electric, an e-mobility startup. On the other hand, his mother, Cisca Wauman, hails from northern Belgium, specifically Flanders. It's worth noting that Lando is not fluent in Flemish Dutch!
Lando Norris started in F1 as a test driver for McLaren in 2018 before signing a full-time contract with the Company in 2019, finishing 11th in the Drivers’ Championship. He was 19 in his debut year, making him the youngest British driver in the sport's history, ahead of Jenson Button who made his Formula One debut in 2000 at the age of 20.
However, it's worth noting that the title of the youngest Formula 1 driver of all time belongs to Max Verstappen, who achieved this distinction at the age of 17 years, 5 months, and 15 days.
Like many of the younger crop of F1 talent coming through, Lando embraces digital racing and also regularly streams his gaming sessions on Twitch, find his channel here.
For driver development, he’s known for using platforms like iRacing which is one of the world's leading online racing simulators. These feature laser scanned replicas of the greatest circuits in the world allowing professional drivers to quickly learn circuits and lines, and improve focus and reaction times.
The level of realism possible in sim racing today is helped by advancements in sim rig design, many featuring sim-specific components like the composite seat technologies developed by Tillett, find out more in our 'King of Sim' blog post here.
As with so many F1 drivers, Lando started his career in karting, winning the CIK-FIA Karting European Championship and the WSK Euro Series in the KFJ class in 2013. A year later he was crowned CIK-FIA Karting World Champion in the main KF category.
Still a massive karting enthusiast, Lando collaborated with his former kart team RFM and the OTK Kart Group to create LN Racing Kart in 2021.
The team exists to give young, promising drivers access to great quality, competitive karts.
Tillett has supported Lando throughout his karting career and he still insists on Tillett Rib Protection when he gets back behind the wheel.
Discover our full range of Rib Protectors here!
From the age of four, Lando drew inspiration from nine-time world champion, Valentino Rossi, aspiring to follow in the footsteps of the two-wheel legend. However, it was Lando's brother who redirected his enthusiasm towards kart racing.
Nevertheless, Rossi's influence remained a driving force in Lando's journey, as the young racer remained steadfast in his determination to mirror Rossi's unparalleled success.
Their paths eventually crossed at the British MotoGP, an encounter that left a lasting impression. In homage to his racing hero, Lando donned a Rossi-inspired helmet during his debut season at the Italian Grand Prix.
During the pandemic Lando teamed up with a group of digital creators to form the Quadrant esports team, a gaming and lifestyle brand that combines his passion for 4 ‘quadrants’ - Gaming, Racing, Content and Apparel.
Quadrant aims to become one of the most visible gaming & content Brand’s in the world. Since its launch, massive amounts of awareness has been driven to famous collaborators on YouTube such as Aarav Amin, Steve Alvarex Brown, Niran Yesufu, and Maria Bish. The channel is great fun, check it out here.
Lando's love for cars extends far beyond the racetrack and virtual simulations. In his personal collection of supercars, you'll naturally find several McLaren's, including models like the GT, 570GT, and the 720S. He has also invested in some amazing vehicles from other marques, including a Mercedes AMG GT, a Ferrari F8, and a Rolls Royce Wraith.
When it's time to unwind, Lando turns to a surprising hobby: golf. Although golf held no appeal for him initially, it was teammate Carlos Sainz who persuaded him to give it a shot. To everyone's surprise, Lando became addicted with the sport and now finds himself on the golf course most weekends!
Tillett seats look, feel and perform differently to any other seat on the market today. This is thanks to a unique (and closely guarded) manufacturing system which is part craftsmanship, part technical know-how and part materials technology.
From research and design to prototype testing and manufacture by hand - every step of our process is rooted in no-compromise quality, click here to learn more!
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