“I can be a lot more of a d**k and act like an idiot”: Lando Norris quashes rumors of missing out on F1 wins due to his 'good guy' stature

Star McLaren driver Lando Norris has quashed remarks suggesting that his 'nice guy' reputation is affecting his ability to add more wins to his tally. Norris is one of the most popular drivers on the grid and maintains amicable relationships with his peers.

With McLaren now a regular contender for race wins, the 24-year-old is under the spotlight with speculations suggesting his lack of on-track aggression might be costing him victories.

Lando Norris has dismissed speculations suggesting that his nice-guy attitude affects his ability to win races. He insists that while he is amiable off the track, it has zero relevance to his on-track performances (via motorsport.com):

"I don't really care what people say. I’m a nice guy, and I try to be respectful in every way that I can. But that has absolutely zero relevance for what happens on track."

The British driver suggested that the F1 landscape has changed over the decades and today's drivers don't have the ruthless mentality of the past. Norris added that he would not change his personality to fit the mold.

"As much as people want to just come up with their own thoughts and talk about these things, what happened 10 years ago and 15 and 20 years ago was completely different to now. So if I want, I can be a lot more of a d**k and act like an idiot and have that persona and make people think that, but I don't need to, I don't want to."

Before the 2024 season, Norris was very calculative in picking his battles on track, often letting faster cars pass him. This season, however, he is racing for wins and has found himself in frequent battles with Max Verstappen, even resulting in a collision in Austria.

Ultimately, Norris suggested that when the helmet goes on, he is racing for wins and remains unfazed by the comments suggesting that his 'nice guy' persona affects his performance.

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McLaren boss backs Lando Norris while firing shots at Red Bull

In the final laps of the Austrian GP, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen took each other out of contention for the race win, with the latter being penalized for causing their collision.

In the aftermath of the incident, the longtime F1 friends have reconciled, but their team bosses have not moved on. McLaren boss Zak Brown recently took a jibe at Red Bull's "win at all costs" mentality, suggesting that while the Papaya team would go toe-to-toe with their rivals, they would never resort to such tactics (via Autosport):

"We're prepared to go toe-to-toe. Nasty is not how McLaren goes racing. I think you can go toe-to-toe, but you don't have to be nasty about it. They seem to, at times, have a win-at-all-costs mentality. That's not how we go racing, but we think you can go toe-to-toe and take the fight to them our own way."

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen had a clean race at Silverstone and are expected to fight for wins many more times this season.