Lando Norris happy with Guildford and Weetabix despite lure of Monaco, parties and fizz… meet Britain's rising F1 star

Firstly, he has no plans to move to money-mad Monaco. Instead, he is quite happy sharing a house in Guildford, Surrey.

That is probably just as well, too, for the 18-year-old from Glastonbury does not like to party much, either.

In fact, having full-fat milk on his Weetabix and owning up to nicking a sweet as a small boy is about as crazy as Britain’s newest F1 star gets!

Norris has been thrust into the big time after he was confirmed as McLaren’s driver for 2019 alongside Carlos Sainz.

But when asked about moving to Monaco, where Lewis Hamilton and many race stars have luxury pads, he said: “No, I don’t think I’ll be moving soon.


Guildford’s good at the moment.

“Given the team’s current state, they are in need of more help than they ever have been and I will help them as much as I can rather than having a nice life in Monaco.”

So Norris is no party animal — but does he have a wicked side?

“No,” he said. “I haven’t done much. When I was five — it’s not even bad — I stole a sweet from the sweet shop.

“My parents found out and I lied and said they were given to us from school. Then my mum said she was going to ask the teacher — that’s when I knew it was all going to go wrong, so I had to own up to it.

“Apart from that, I’ve done nothing too naughty.”

But Norris does admit he needs to get in shape for the new season, meaning he will be spending more time in the gym and watching his diet — which could put paid to the full-fat milk.

He said: “My trainer, who lives opposite, comes and checks on me.

“I should do better but I have my Weetabix. I’ve had that pretty much all my life.

“I am probably the main consumer of Weetabix in the world — cold milk, full fat, but they are pretty strict. I think Weetabix and full-fat milk is what it is all about.”

The last rookie Brit to be partnered with a Spaniard from Renault was Hamilton in 2007. But that is where the similarities end.

When quizzed about his illustrious countryman — who is in Shanghai to launch a new fashion range — Norris is cautious.

He said: “I did not grow up idolising Lewis. He was a driver who I admired and you look at his characteristics and it is outright speed and outright pace which is probably better than everyone else.

“My idol was MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi. He was the first guy I started supporting when I was six or seven, but to be compared to Lewis in any way is still a cool thing.”

But Norris is not about to splash the cash like four-time world champion Hamilton has down the years.

He said: “I’ve not bought anything. I am just focusing on the job itself.

“If McLaren give me a car, that’s fine, but I don’t tend to buy fancy stuff anyway or super-nice clothes.

“I don’t think I have ever spent over £1,000 on anything out of my own money. The most expensive thing I have ever bought is airbrush equipment for my painting.


“It sounds odd but I like designing my own graphics and so having my own vinyl cutter, all the airbrushing equipment and paints all come up to a hefty price and it came out of my own money.

“I like to paint my own helmets. I design my own suit and boots, I like being unique in that way.

“I used to take my helmet apart, sand it down and repaint it. That’s my favourite hobby after racing.”

Ex-Millfield School pupil Norris says he only found out that he was being offered the chance to drive for McLaren next season on Sunday night, after the Italian Grand Prix.

And while dad Adam, a multi-millionaire thanks to a career in financial services, and his manager were with him in Italy, Norris was sworn to secrecy — meaning he did not even tell his mum.

He added: “I had to keep it quiet until it was announced and then I got to tell everyone, including my mum.

“When she found out, she was crying. She’s very proud.

“It has been 11 years of me travelling a lot and not seeing her, so to know that I’ve now got to where I wanted to be, she is very happy.”

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