McLaren racing driver Lando Norris was awarded the John Cobb Memorial Trophy for 2021 by the British Racing Drivers’ Club. The club, founded in 1928, is an exclusive invitation-only members club for racecar drivers who are judged to have achieved success in the upper levels of motorsport for a number of seasons.
The official handles of the BRDC posted the acceptance speech of the young driver, which ended somewhat hilariously with the Brit standing up after the speech revealing his rather 'informal' attire.
Watch it here:
The John Cobb Memorial Trophy is awarded to a British driver, driving a British car, who has achieved success of outstanding character. The page had an official description mentioning why Lando deserved the award with his 4 podiums in his McLaren MCL35M. They said:
"Were it not for freak weather in Sochi, he would have also most probably achieved his maiden Formula One race victory. Our fingers are crossed for better fortune in 2022 but in the meantime, it is our pleasure to award the John Cobb Memorial Trophy to Lando Norris. Congratulations Lando."
Lando Norris hopes to go 'wheel to wheel' with Russell, Mercedes in 2022
With what looks like a more competitive car, Lando Norris has been doing well when compared to his compatriot George Russell in his Williams FW43B. When asked about the hopes for next season, Lando said he will consider it a positive if he finds himself racing wheel-to-wheel with the Brit in his Mercedes. He continued:
"First of all, I hope we get to go wheel-to-wheel, If we go wheel-to-wheel then I think we’ve had a good start to 2022. Or he’s had a bad one! I think, of course, we will be optimistic and hope we can start the season well, and [hope] we can be closer to Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, I guess especially those final two."
Russell, having switched teams from Williams to Mercedes, will see himself paired with the 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton. Meanwhile, Lando would be continuing his pairing with Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who will be looking to bounce back from an on-and-off 2021 season.
Lando finished P6 in the drivers championship, with Ricciardo at P8 and George Russell in P15 with his last season with the Williams team.