r/formula1 • u/TeamQuadrant Lando Norris ✅ • Mar 30 '22
AMA I'm Lando Norris, McLaren Formula 1 driver and CEO of Quadrant. This is my Reddit AMA!
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u/kcollantine Mar 30 '22
After the Friday GPDA meeting some drivers told us F1 had promised to reconsider where it would hold events following the missile attack near the Jeddah circuit during practice. However it now appears F1 is determined to continue racing in Saudi Arabia next year regardless.
Were you also under the impression F1 was considering not returning to Saudi Arabia, or is that not an accurate reflection of what was said at the meeting? And do you want to race there again in 2023?
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u/TheJeck Mar 30 '22
Good question, no chance it gets answered.
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Mar 30 '22
Not holding my breath since none of the drivers have said anything about it yet, I don't think the first comment is going to be on a Reddit AMA
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u/oldcarfreddy Mar 30 '22
Also the question should really be directed at FIA, the teams, the team chiefs, then the team drivers, in that order.
I am liberal-leftie af but I also think it's weird many fans want drivers to boycott races but won't boycott watching races themselves
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Mar 30 '22
To be fair, a fan boycott just straight up is not going to work and a driver boycott would be far more effective. It's just convenient for fans to say from their own homes, while drivers have the most to lose from doing something like that
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u/drdr3ad Mar 30 '22
Because people that host an AMA apparently don't realise the second 'A' stands for anything. Not just whatever they want to promote on the given day
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Mar 30 '22
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u/zberry7 Mar 31 '22
No offense to Max (my favorite driver), but that almost reads like a Trump quote 😂
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u/Heartlight Mar 31 '22 edited Mar 31 '22
It really doesn't, though. As in, some of the vocabulary is similar, but it all flows well and makes sense. If Trump had said it, here's how it might look:
"What I didn't like, and it's not even about me. But let me tell you, they treated me so bad in the past. So bad. The worst. But it's about Lando and Daniel, great guys. They are great guys. I know them well, and I often tell people what great guys these are. I hang out with them all the time. They're really nice, first of all, really nice, great people, and the show made Lando look like a bit of a shithole, a lot of it, they just went too far. It's like that time when I was on an interview and they made me look really bad, but it was all fake news. It's all of this fake news media and Netflix is one of them. Lando is a great guy. Fantastic guy. He loves golf, too. I've played golf with him. Great player. And again, you know, I think... I know Lando. Everyone here knows Lando. You know Lando, right? He's a great guy, funny guy, great character. Not at all like those shithole drivers like that guy Perez. Netflix should be talking about Perez more. What is he even doing, racing in F1? We should build a big wall to keep these people out of F1. Netflix should talk about that, you know, and not about Lando. When you look at this episode of fake news Netflix you're like, who is this guy? What the hell is going on?!"
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u/Noreng Mar 31 '22
Almost, but not quite, too much of a vocabulary. Trump quotes are usually 10 different words rearranged endlessly, here it's at least 15
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u/iamsbest Mar 30 '22
Lando, a short view back to the past. Thirty years ago, Niki Lauda told us ‘take a monkey, place him into the cockpit and he is able to drive the car.’ Thirty years later, Sebastian told us ‘I had to start my car like a computer, it’s very complicated.’ And Nico Rosberg said that during the race – I don’t remember what race - he pressed the wrong button on the wheel. Question for you: is Formula One driving today too complicated with twenty and more buttons on the wheel, one hundred million racing rules, are you too much under effort, under pressure? What are your wishes for the future concerning the technical programme during the race? Less buttons, more? Or less and more communication with your engineers and race director?
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u/TheFearlessLlama Mar 30 '22
Of all the memes and funny moments that have come and gone in my 9 years of watching this, this is still the funniest by far. The video is just so ridiculous. But, not a bad question, or at least the spirit of it.
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u/Last_Fact_3044 Mar 30 '22
Gentlemen 🧑👨👱🧔👴, a short view ☀️😎 back to the past. Thirty years 3️⃣0️⃣ ago, Niki Lauda 🇦🇹👴🏁🏎️3️⃣🏆 told us: “Take a trained monkey 🍌🐒, place him into the cockpit 💺☸️ and he is able to drive the car 🏎️🏎️🏎️.” Thirty years 3️⃣0️⃣ later, Sebastian 🇩🇪👱🏁🏎️4️⃣🏆 told us: “I had to start 🔑 my car 🏎️ like a computer 🖥️💻⌨️🖱️🖨️💽💾💿📀. It’s very complicated ❓🤔❓.” And Nico Rosberg 🇩🇪👱🏁🏎️1️⃣🏆 said, err, he pressed during the race 🏁🏎️, I don’t remember 😕 what race 🏁🏎️, the wrong ✖️ button 🔘😱 on the wheel ☸️. Question ❓❔❓❔ for you two 👱👨 both. Is Formula 1 1️⃣🏆🍾 driving today too complicated 🤷♀️🤷♂️ with 20 2️⃣0️⃣ and more ➕ buttons 🔘🔘🔘 on the wheel ☸️, are you too much under effort 😰😥😰😥, under pressure 🏋️🏋️♀️? What are your wishes 🙏🙌🙏 for the future, concerning technical program, errrm, during the race 🏁🏎️? Less ➖ buttons 🔘, more? Or less ➖ and more ➕communication with your engineers. 🏎️📣🗣️💬🗯️📈📉📊📋➡️👩💻👨💻👩💻👨💻🛠️🔧
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u/CrabSauceCrissCross Mar 30 '22
It got memed on cause it was comically long-winded and contained like 5 questions all asked one after the other. The guy asked the question like he was reciting the article he was going to write based in that question. All he had to ask was the driver's opinion on the complexity of the wheel and car especially in relation to the past (maybe provide the lauda quote for some context) and that's all lol.
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u/Slappathebassmon Mar 30 '22 edited Mar 30 '22
Have you heard Vettel's actual answer? It's actually pretty good. You need to look up the actual interview video from 2014 Abu Dhabi. I made a thread on the videos I could find asking if people had any more.
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u/Tyrone_Tyronson Mar 30 '22
Not just the accent. The question itself is worded very poorly.
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u/BlueBloodLive Mar 30 '22
I'm sorry can you repeat the question? :)
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u/outride2000 Mar 30 '22
I assume every driver hears "a short view back to the past" and either laughs or bolts out or both
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u/Shaphz Mar 30 '22
Hi Lando!
A huge fan here.
Last year, McLaren finished 4th in the constructors (Hugely thanks to your expertise on the wheel), just slightly behind Ferrari.
This year however, it seems that the team is struggling with the regulation change.
Do you think it's possible for the team to bounce back this year and finish in the upper midfield? Or is it more likely that a big improvement in the car will only arrive next year?
Just curious to hear your input on that specific subject.
Thanks!
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u/gralfighter Mar 30 '22
Hey Lando, glad to see you picked up your formula 1 hobby again!
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How do you manage the stresses of being a formula 1 driver and ceo at the same time? Who is responsible for quadrant while you are away racing
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Are you really brutally honest in your after race interviews, or are you making fun of the typical overdramatization of the journalists?
Thank you for the ama!
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u/poopellar Mar 30 '22
A follow up question regarding team Quadrant.
What does SuperGT smell like?15
u/matts1900 Mar 30 '22
Smells like 6th place
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u/onealps Mar 30 '22
I've seen this comment multiple times over multiple days... Can you please explain the context/reference here?
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u/millatime21 Mar 30 '22
Just an inside joke regarding Super GT always getting 6th place, even if it is very unlikely.
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u/stoopdude Mar 30 '22
Lando, do you have any interest in doing races outside of F1 during your career? Seems like the McLaren team being in Indycar gives you an opportunity to do the Indy 500 or maybe Rolex 24 or something. Does this interest you or does F1 consume so much focus that these things seems ridiculous?
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u/Crafty_Substance_954 Mar 30 '22
He's already done the Rolex 24 with Alonso at United Autosports before he was the full-time F1 driver.
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u/stoopdude Mar 30 '22
I kinda forgot about that but of course he did. Would be cool to put together an LMP2 car with all four McLaren F1 and Indycar drivers.
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u/Crafty_Substance_954 Mar 30 '22
Would be an interesting idea, not sure it would ever happen though.
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Mar 30 '22
Zak is very open to his drivers mixing, I wouldn't count it out. Especially with him also owning United Autosport.
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u/afito Mar 30 '22
I always hope we see some more big time efforts for the Nürburgring 24h, yes it's "only GT3" but there's just no other tracks like it.
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u/Familiar_Raisin204 Mar 30 '22
I'd love to see some more F1 drivers in Indy. Hopefully Romain's happiness will bring more over.
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u/OriMoriNotSori Mar 30 '22
Always curious, how do drivers deal with things like physical cooldowns after a race and stuff like jet lag/time zone adjustments. From the outside it just looks like you guys finish the race, and fly home before midnight, and the next day be doing sim work at HQ 1 continent away without any problems!
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u/Theo_1013 Mar 30 '22 edited Mar 30 '22
Hey Lando. During the middle of a race when you're not fighting for a position or pushing, does your mind wander off and think of other things like what you'll be eating for dinner that night?
Or are you fully concentrated 100% of the time?
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u/etiennetop Mar 30 '22 edited Mar 30 '22
I heard Senna did this during his races (when not fighting a position of course). And I know I do it when playing a video game after a couple of laps you start to kind of drive by yourself, without really thinking about it. It's pretty hard to explain.. Good question.
Edit:
Found it: flow state (someone commented and I got the notification saying flow state but I can't find your comment stranger)
And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. It was like I was in a tunnel. Not only the tunnel under the hotel, but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was just going and going, more and more and more and more. I was way over the limit, but still able to find even more.
Senna
Edit 2:
The reason this would be a good question too is that today the drivers need to play with the car's settings all race long, not just setting brake balance. They constantly have their engineers demanding to go from "power2" to "power3" settings and monitoring tire temp, etc. It might break the focus and repetition needed to achieve "flow state".
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u/OldheadBoomer Mar 30 '22
This is similar to an interview Senna did with Dr. Robert Ornstein, a noted neuroscientist. Here's the quote from the interview in full:
I remember starting: going quicker and quicker, I was on pole [the fastest in qualifying]. I was on pole by a few tenths of a second and then by half a second and then over a second. I was just going. More and more—there was a stage when I was over two seconds quicker than anybody else [which is unheard of], including my teammate with the same equipment.
I realized at that moment, suddenly! (Senna snaps his fingers) that I was well over something conscious. Monaco is small and narrow, and at that moment, 1 had the feeling that I was in a tunnel—the circuit was just a tunnel for me. It was going-going-going and within the physical limit of the circuit, it was like I was on rails. Of course, 1 wasn’t on rails. Then, suddenly. I realised it was too much: I slowed down. I drove myself slowly back to the pits and said to myself that I shouldn’t go out any more that day.
Because for that moment I was vulnerable for extending my own limits, and the car’s limits: limits that I never touched before. I was not aware, exactly, of what was going on—not that 1 was not in control—I was just going-going-going.
Dr. Robert Ornstein, "Evolution of Consciousness: Of Darwin, Freud, and Cranial Fire - The Origins of the Way We Think"
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u/Gerf93 Mar 30 '22
Reminds me of when Leclerc was streaming during Covid, he tried driving in Baku on F1 and ended the stream after a crash in the first corner. "Sorry guys, I can't focus because I can't stop thinking about playing Euro Truck Simulator tonight".
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u/bakraofwallstreet Mar 30 '22
And I know I do it when playing a video game after a couple of laps you start to kind of drive by yourself, without really thinking about it.
But being distracted while playing a video game is much different than when strapped to an F1 car and your body constantly reacting to the car. Highly doubt F1 drivers think of stuff like what's for dinner while driving the car these days, there's too many buttons and numbers to take care of.
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u/WewMaster Mar 30 '22
Yeah, back in the day you could place a traimed monkey in the cockpit and he would be able to drive the car, but today with twenty buttons (or more) they are much more under pressure e.g. Nico Rosberg pressing a button by accident
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u/etiennetop Mar 30 '22
Yea no it's not about thinking about other stuff, your mind just goes blank. You aren't focused on the driving per say, it's like you're subconsciously doing it, but not because you're thinking of something else, it's just very repetitive. I'd tried to find the interview clip I'm referencing but can't seem to. Will update if I do.
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u/thatJainaGirl Mar 30 '22
While it's far, far from F1, I do daily driver autocross with my local drive club, and after a dozen laps or so, your mind does start to wander a bit. You find a groove and some of the easier parts of the course take up less brain power than others.
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Mar 30 '22
Yeah, but he also races in sims / video games. So it’s an interesting question - does your mind wander like it does in virtual platforms, or is there something innately different about the physicality and adrenaline of a race that doesn’t allow it.
I mean shit, I’ve DEFINITELY driven thousands of kms of open road w/o active consciousness. We all do it in different places all the time. Question is, is racing so repetitive for him / F1 drivers that this is a - dare I say it - even desirable state of being in the car.
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u/A1phaBetaGamma Mar 30 '22
I mean people get distracted while driving all the time. I could be thinking of a subject and half an hour of wrangling through traffic could fly by.
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u/tasKinman Mar 31 '22
A few years ago I rode a motorbike. I rode an R1 and, at about 25,000 km per year, I rode quite a lot. I was mainly on well-maintained mountain roads. And after some time on the road, I had this feeling that I was riding all by myself and that I could do all kinds of other things with my mind in the meantime. On the one hand, this is a great feeling, but on the other hand, you completely loose the impression of speed and are travelling much faster than allowed. Which, to be honest, happened again and again, but then it was a very conscious decision.
As soon as I got into this speed frenzy, I took a break. I always made sure that my speed was adapted to the situation (traffic but above all also visibility, as there is usually no traffic there), but in the rush I feared that I might not stick to it any more. I can imagine that the same thing can happen on the race track, with the difference that the subconscious also knows exactly what the track has to offer.
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u/RYouNotEntertained Mar 30 '22
flow state
My understanding is that flow state is a form of hyper focus, not wandering focus.
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u/etiennetop Mar 30 '22
Yeah, I agree but like Senna said in that moment instinct plays a huge role and you don't "feel" focused. You just look apex to apex, you did those accelerations and braking points now dozens of time. You don't have to think about racing. You don't "concentrate" but yet you are hyper focused.
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Mar 30 '22
The best races I've ever had in a kart or a simulator, is when my mind just closed itself to the outside world. Suddenly I was awake on the slowdown lap and would wonder how the hell I got there. The races would just seem like they were seconds long, even when they were an hour or more.
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u/Ih8P2W Mar 30 '22
You and Senna are definitely not talking about the same thing in this case. You are talking about being distracted and doing things out of muscle memory. Senna is talking about being so over-focussed into something that it seem like nothing else even exists.
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u/matches_ Mar 30 '22
This is not the same as being distracted tho. I don't think flow state would be thinking about groceries like the question suggested. Flow state is when you enter some sort of meditative state so you don't think at all and is completely in the moment.
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Mar 30 '22
They just engage auto pilot. The only reason they don’t take a power nap is because the guys on the radio keep waking them.
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u/BoopinSnoots24-7 Mar 31 '22
Racing driver here in an aaaastronomically lesser series. If I have a significant gap ahead and behind, I 100% get distracted on straights. Our cars are much slower so the straights can be a decent chunk of time, and I’ll find myself thinking completely unrelated thoughts like “did I finish that episode of the sopranos last night or did I fall asleep?”. Same goes for endurance multi-class racing, you can get into a flow state when not actively battling and you find yourself kind of “snapping out of it” randomly. Like have you ever driven home from work after a long day and thought to yourself “wait, we’re any of those traffic lights green?” Similar feeling. That being said, I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep for a week after the adrenaline from an F1 car, let alone daydream on the straights.
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u/soepvorksoepvork Mar 30 '22
I do that sometimes when driving home after work. Then again, being stuck in the motorway is probably a little bit different from driving an F1 car
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u/rossbrawn Mar 31 '22
I still remember Kimi crashing (Melbourne I think?) and explaining that he basically got bored and made a mistake.
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u/Jdogy2002 Mar 31 '22
You ever been on a road trip and after driving a couple hours on the highway, you’ll “snap to” for lack of a better word? You’ll almost scare yourself because you start second guessing if you’re paying attention or not? Don’t think Lando goes that far during a race, but I guarantee he has flat moments where he thinks about what he’s going to eat afterwards. The muscle memory at the level is too strong.
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u/filippavic0908 Mar 30 '22
Hi Lando! More and more I've heard you talk about mental health, depression, and thoughts about 'not being good enough' - a move which, sadly, I've seen some people call weak, coming from such an elite driver. But as someone who often has such thoughts, I find it incredibly inspiring that even my 'superhuman' heroes (such as yourself) have the same struggles.
So my question is: when times are tough and you're not feeling well, where do you find the strength to be the best version of yourself, and what would you say to others who feel this way?
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u/zyxwl2015 Mar 30 '22
He talked about this in length in the high performance podcast, defo worth listening
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Mar 30 '22
Hiya!!
I recently listened to your podcast with High Performance on YouTube and it was really powerful to hear. I really appreciate your honesty! How do you deal with the constant pressures of being in the public eye and do you still feel it when you are at home relaxing.
Also, who receives the most attention in the paddock and who is the most illusive?
I’ve got huge respect for you! Keep being a champion for mental health and good luck for the rest of the season!!
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u/BaronIbelin Mar 30 '22
Hi Lando, thanks for giving us some of your time! My 4yr old son's favourite team are McLaren because of the Orange! He (Dec) would like to ask:
How do you remember what all the buttons do on your steering wheel? When you are driving the car, do you ever push the wrong one, or need your engineer to tell you which one to push?
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u/Jiquero Mar 30 '22
When you are driving the car, do you ever push the wrong one, or need your engineer to tell you which one to push?
This sounds very familiar.
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Mar 30 '22
Gentlemen, a short view back to the past. Thirty years ago, Niki Lauda told us ‘take a monkey, place him into the cockpit and he is able to drive the car.’ Thirty years later, Sebastian told us ‘I had to start my car like a computer, it’s very complicated.’ And Nico Rosberg said that during the race – I don’t remember what race - he pressed the wrong button on the wheel. Question for you both: is Formula One driving today too complicated with twenty and more buttons on the wheel, are you too much under effort, under pressure? What are your wishes for the future concerning the technical programme during the race? Less buttons, more? Or less and more communication with your engineers?
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u/marahute85 Mar 31 '22
Not what you’re referencing but Lance Stroll the pit confirm button is the ok button Brad is still funny
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u/Wild-Burrito Mar 30 '22
Lando Norris, off camera do you ever spend time with any of the drivers. Whether it be hanging out or just leisurely?
With that said how is your relationship with other drivers and/or teams?
Thanks for your time
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u/Cojarax Mar 30 '22
How do you feel about the way Netflix represented you in Drive to Survive? Not even the made up drama about your relationship with Daniel but your own personal representation in a what feels like negative light, also mentioned by Max.
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u/Kreindeker Mar 30 '22
I mean, they've framed him like he has a problem with his teammates the past two seasons, I think it's a pretty safe bet he's not especially keen on them
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u/LunchMasterFlex Mar 30 '22
Is this a joke? Lando is well liked among his peers. So many drivers complained about his D2S portrayal.
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u/loud_farter Mar 30 '22
Do you ever wish that you could just turn on Incognito Mode in real life?
We met a couple times in Doha last year for the Qatar Grand Prix and I felt really guilty asking for a photo. Thanks for letting me ride an elevator with you a couple times!
Cheers and good luck this season!
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u/Diabetes-Repair Mar 30 '22
Bro how
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u/loud_farter Mar 30 '22
The McLaren team stayed at my Hotel, turns out I just kind of was in the right place and right time.
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Mar 30 '22
Carlos finally (almost) pronounced Mariah Carey the right way: https://youtu.be/uK0lQ1G9wRk?t=54. Thoughts?
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u/marahute85 Mar 30 '22
The way he processed that memory of Lando creasing to finally almost get it right has me weak 😂. He tried but he’s just too Spanish
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u/YouReds01 Mar 30 '22
What’s the maximum amount of toddlers you think you could beat in a fight before you were swarmed and ultimately killed
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u/bassyourface Mar 30 '22
Honestly if they are like my kid, two maybe three. People underestimate the fact that toddlers do everything at 110% all day everyday, I don’t think I could give 110% for 10 seconds. And once they’ve put your tooth through you lip by jumping into your face you develop a really healthy fear of everything they do near you. So like maybe even one extra angry toddler who didn’t take a nap and ate too much chocolate.
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u/Toffee_Wheels Mar 30 '22
Playing on your Belgian/Somerset roots, a few key questions for you.
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West Country cider or Belgian beer?
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Waffles or Pasties?
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Chocolate or Cream Teas?
I feel like Belgium might win this, hands down.
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u/CoachDelgado Mar 30 '22
I feel like Belgium might win this, hands down.
I'm gonna have to wash your mouth out with crisp Somerset cider if you're not careful.
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u/spoonarmy Mar 30 '22
Nah, I'm going 2-1 for the Somerset win (Belgium wins for beer).
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u/Toffee_Wheels Mar 30 '22
As a Devon lad myself, I disagree. Chocolate and waffles, but give me a cider every time.
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Mar 30 '22
How do you find your energy levels when racing in vastly different time zones? Specifically going to Australia next week.
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u/armored-dinnerjacket Mar 30 '22
i read that the teams keep to a specific time zone to minimise variations in circadian rhythm so they end up having meals at really odd times.
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Mar 30 '22
I’ve read that too, but in the case of races like Australia the 4pm track time qualifying is roughly 7am london? So in that case you’re pulling an all nighter on your original time zone. Sounds rough
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u/DoctorDrell Mar 30 '22
Rosberg on the Beyond the Grid podcast said in the days leading up to a race he would gradually go to sleep/wake up an hour earlier/later than needed according to the timezone, so that by the time the weekend comes he's already adjusted to the local time.
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u/overspeeed Mar 30 '22 edited Apr 13 '22
This AMA has been verified by the mods. Get your questions in before 8PM BST tomorrow. Lando's answers will be posted on the Quadrant YouTube channel.
Lando Norris Answers YOUR Questions! - r/Formula1 AMA