'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Lando Norris wore a special helmet design for the first day of pre-season testing, paying an emotional tribute to McLaren's former sporting director Gil de Ferran, as F1 returns to racing for the 2024 season.
De Ferran passed away on the 29th of December 2023 due to a heart attack. Apart from being one of the 'greatest drivers to never race in F1,' (as Autosport) named him, Ferran spent a lot of time around the grid.
He served as the sporting director for BAR-Honda in 2005 for two years. Later, in 2018, he moved to McLaren in the same role. Although he left the team in 2021, he was signed back in 2023 as a consultant advisor.
Trending
Lando Norris, who has been racing with the team since the 2019 season, paid Ferran a tribute by customizing his helmet in the same way as the one that Ferran won when he won the Indy500.
His X (formerly Twitter) post read:
"We lost someone really special to us at the end of last year, he was a dear friend of mine and he’d been with me pretty much since I came into Formula 1. Someone who I not only had many laughs and great times with, but someone who helped me out on and off the track whenever I needed it."
"This is the design he won the Indy 500 with, and I’ll be wearing it today as my little way to say thank you for everything and to let him know we’re thinking of him and he’s still very much part of McLaren. I hope you like it. This one is for you Gil."
Lando Norris follows Max Verstappen in second place at the end of first day of Bahrain pre-season testing
At the end of the first day of 2024 pre-season testing, Red Bull's Max Verstappen led the pack with a 1:31.344 laptime, completing a total of 143 laps around the Bahrain International Circuit.
Lando Norris followed him in second position +1.140 seconds slower with 73 total laps. His teammate Oscar Piastri was down in ninth place, +2.314 seconds slower than the leader.
McLaren is expected to carry the momentum they had in the second half of the 2023 F1 season. The team managed to develop well enough, challenging within the top positions regularly by the end of the season. They finished in fourth place in the championship with 302 points; 104 points behind Ferrari in third place.
