Lando Norris rejects the idea of F1 legacy: “Eventually everyone forgets”

Formula 1 drivers are becoming increasingly conscious of not only their brand but also their legacy. After all, better branding likely means more sponsorship, and more sponsorship means more opportunities to build the legacy they’ve always wanted. McLaren driver Lando Norris doesn’t share such priorities, admitting that he’s “not fussed” about being remembered.

Norris is fighting for the drivers’ championship as his team continues its first year of giving him such a strong opportunity. But despite being only eight points behind drivers’ championship leader and team-mate Oscar Piastri, the Briton isn’t thinking about the legacy he’s leaving in his wake. 

“I guess the only thing that I want is for people to know the kind of person I was, rather than anything else,” Norris told Rolling Stone. “I’m not fussed about having a legacy or being remembered as being one of the best drivers or anything. It’s just something that I’m not too bothered by.”

While other drivers speak of greatness and lasting impact, Norris is instead purely focusing on the now. 

“You know, some people are different. Some people want to be remembered as the ‘best driver ever.’ But I don’t know, I feel like eventually everyone forgets. So for me, there’s no use. There’s no excitement for me in thinking of those things.”

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Andrej Isakovic / AFP via Getty Images

This should not be confused with cynicism. 

“For me, it’s just trying to achieve the things that I want to achieve in my career and in my life, and share those moments with others. And then just be remembered for being the person that I am, more than the driver that I was.”

Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, has witnessed the evolution of Norris first-hand. 

“Lando is such an honest person and I think he perpetuates this honesty in every kind of relationship, including the one with himself,” Stella told media on the weekend of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.

“I think he wants to make sure that if he gets it wrong, he gets it from the honesty point of view. He doesn’t want to look arrogant, he doesn’t want to look like: ‘I’m not acknowledging that I could have done better, so I make it very clear.’

“But at the same time, like I said before about champions, you need to find the right balance, and you need to find the right dynamics in terms of communication to the world and in terms of communication to yourself, to put yourself in the position to perform today, and in the position to keep improving every day.”