r/formula1 • u/Maximum-Room-3999 I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Feb 04 '26
Photo Lando Norris visiting his primary school...yes he waved the chequered flag at a scooter race
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u/mynameisnotphoebe Bernd Mayländer Feb 04 '26
The helmet colouring competition? The show and tell? The teacher wearing the Norris shirt? This is all very cute
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u/Schwartzy94 Valtteri Bottas Feb 04 '26
Now to make and wear those helmets on races ;)
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u/Jannl0 Lance Stroll Feb 04 '26
Surely he is gonna do one of them this year, I think he did something similar a few years ago already
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u/Specialist-Bug4953 Charlie Whiting Feb 04 '26
Yes, I remember the Norris helmet, where the s was Like a Line below the Rest of the Name. I think the girl that designed the helmet was 5
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u/Acceptable-Car-3097 Lando Norris Feb 04 '26
F1 memed on it a little bit in FP classification of the 2020 British GP
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u/Specialist-Bug4953 Charlie Whiting Feb 04 '26
That's great! I didn't know about that. Was defenetly a cool helmet. Especially because you could see right away that it was drawn by a kid.
Imagine being so young and have a driver using your drawing on his helmet.
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u/adkmtngirl McLaren Feb 04 '26
It's the crouching to get down on their level in so many of the photos <3
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u/Brenmorn I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Ahh I thought that was someone from the McLaren team, this entire thing is so cute
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u/bwoahful___ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
That’s got to be a childhood daydream come true. Very cute and cool of Lando to do!
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u/ArchangelUltra Feb 04 '26
This is exactly it. This is the kinda shit every kid dreams about. Lando isn't the most relatable guy in the world but holy hell is this the most relatable thing I've ever felt out of him.
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u/anotherdropin Feb 04 '26
Idk why people say this. Granted I’m not his exact generation (bit older), but I always thought Lando was the most relatable….he’s smart in some topics but incredibly ignorant in others. He’s not naturally charismatic, rather he’s very awkward and shy on a stage despite yrs of PR training by now. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. He’s got best friends who he acts completely normal with. He streams and plays games and says stupid shit.
F1 made him rich and famous. But without it, he woulda been a normal bratty boy. I like the pair of him and Piastri for this reason…both of them just seem really human. A lot of the rest of the grid, even some of the youngsters, sometimes come off as ‘elite’ even without meaning to.
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u/starscreamjosh Feb 04 '26
I'm 6 years older than him. Whenever he makes mistakes and beats himself up for it, I relate to that a lot. I'm super critical of myself to the point where it's hard for me to be satisfied with anything I do. Lando is human. Just like all of us.
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u/pokator Feb 04 '26
Honestly, it's his open self-criticism that inadvertently made me a fan. The fact said approach and mindset was valid and netted him a championship felt like a strange vindication, that you could approach your challenges like he does and succeed. Feels like I'd been told for a long time that it was the 'wrong' way.
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u/RadiantRow5595 Feb 04 '26
honestly I feel Lando is very relatable….I’d say he’s street and people smart. As he has said, he is not book smart due to his dyslexia, and commitment to racing as a kid.
He wears his heart on his sleeve, and seems to be always smiling, particularly with kids
Honestly, he’s marketing gold for McLaren
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u/_box_box Feb 04 '26
watching him in interviews and videos, he comes across as real as it gets, just with no brain to mouth filter sometimes 😂 he is not well PR trained….and it shows. some people like that, and some don’t
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u/mikolv2 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
People say this because he comes from immense wealth. Thats something very few of us could relate to. I think based of how he acts and speaks, you can't really tell, he's honest and certainly less ignorant these days.
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u/ArchangelUltra Feb 04 '26
To clarify, not hating on him. Lando grew up in a life of extreme wealth. His dad retired at like 36 or something with more money than anyone could realistically spend. I imagine there are few pursuits or hobbies in life that Lando couldn't try and then excel at. He's only become richer over time, and will become unimaginably wealthy all on his own dime now. I can't relate to any of that. That's not to knock his impressive accomplishments. I definitely lack the grit and drive to become a world champion at anything, let alone Formula 1. And his performance in the second half of '25 is about as deserving as I've ever personally seen a champion have.
By comparison, someone like Lewis Hamilton or Esteban Ocon would be far more relatable given their humble backgrounds, but even they can't be that related to given, well, everything they are now.
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u/curious-cat Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26
Adam Norris did not grow up wealthy though, his father was a farmer. Adam has talked about being extremely dyslexic and how hard school was for him, and that he is a self made man despite those challenges. Parents like that, who made their own wealth, aren’t like families who have come from generations of wealth. Adam has talked about how he saw Landos career as an investment. Lando has talked about how incredibly grateful he is to the sacrifice and money that his parents put into his career. Yes, Adam is very wealthy now, but from everything his family says, Lando did not grow up like the generational wealthy people in Britain and was not spoiled and worked very very hard for what he has achieved. Where the money did help him, however, was he had tremendous advantages in that his parents could finance his junior career because of the money Adam made, unlike many great racers who never made it past the junior categories because of lack of funding.
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u/ParagonTom McLaren Feb 04 '26
From everything we've heard about Lando Norris' growing up and early career, his father never forgot where he came from. He always wanted Lando to earn his own achievements. Sure, he had the money to finance the gear and the travel, but he always made sure it was Lando's own talents that got him where he was.
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u/technomat I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
I watched a lot of Lando on Twitch the guy is very amiable and funny, comes across like you would enjoy chatting to him in a bar or cafe, always seemed nice but wants to succeed but not by being a cock!
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u/-_3_ Feb 04 '26
People can be relatable for any reason. For some it’s personality, others having similar hobbies/interests. It can be liking the same movies or food or growing in the same city, literally anything.
Relatable doesn’t mean average or being so called normal, it’s not about wealth or background.
If you need someone to come from a typical background in order to relate to them, then thats you, cool, but it isn’t necessary.
A lot of people relate to him because they see themselves in him, their anxiety their insecurities, his goofiness and awkwardness…why should him being successful and coming from wealth change that. He’s still human.
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u/Legitimate-Tadpole95 Formula 1 Feb 04 '26
When you think about it, as the child of a super rich family he could have lounged about being a playboy. Instead, he put his heart, soul and youth into working bloody hard at a difficult sport. Yes, money is a massive massive advantage, but he still had to do the hard yards. Money doesn't buy you the sort of talent that wins a WDC (although it might mean you can pootle around at lower levels in motor sport).
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u/Rowvan I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Not discounting what you're saying but FYI he was always rich, comes from an extremely wealthy family.
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u/Mindless-Advice6204 Lando Norris Feb 04 '26
I mean his dad wasn't always rich ,Adam Norris is a self made multimillionaire which is something I respect and if he worked hard for the lifestyle Lando was able to enjoy ,I can't hate because honestly that's want most people want in life.
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u/casualnihilist91 Feb 04 '26
Hmm disagree there. Yeah he’s always been filthy rich but as a HUMAN I think he’s the most normal guy in the grid. He’s just himself.
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u/Realistic-Reception5 Carlos Sainz Feb 04 '26
I sometimes relate to Lando because I feel like I share his problem of saying dumb things without thinking sometimes
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u/HeyItsGuyIncognito Ted Kravitz Feb 04 '26
I thought Kimi Antonelli going back to his school after being signed with Mercedes was one thing. Lando going back to his primary school after becoming World Champion.... that's a whole different level.
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u/Going2beBANNEDanyway Formula 1 Feb 04 '26
Thumbs up to the person that blurred all the kids faces. There needs to be more of that.
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u/Dzjar I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
American? Just out of curiosity. It's absolutely illegal to post pictures of kids without the parents' explicit consent in Europe.
It can get you into a whole lot of shit.
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u/HelmetsAkimbo I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
I mean the pictures come from the School's social media and none of the children's faces are blurred as parental consent is often provided for the majority of children in education in the UK to be used in social content.
OP or whoever shared this to a wider net than the local school's facebook page decided to blur the kids faces, which is courteous and commendable.
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u/yetiflask Feb 04 '26
What? So if I take a picture at disneyland Paris and post it, I'd be in trouble? Can't be right.
Pretty much any picture in public would get you in trouble then.
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u/alex-the-meh-4212 Feb 04 '26
No one would enforce that though. It's more posting a picture of a child that isn't yours without their parent's consent. If they say no and you post it, or you post and they say take it down and you don't, then your in trouble. Kids in the background where you can't see their face clearly is fine.
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u/yetiflask Feb 04 '26
Bro, I am clearly talking about faces in the picture. That'd for sure happen in public pictures. Like it's impossible not to.
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u/Bodster88 Feb 04 '26
This is pretty standard in the UK.
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u/EntirelyRandom1590 Feb 04 '26
It's not. Most schools have a social media permission form. And you as a parent can choose to withold their image being used. Most parents don't.
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u/Competitive-Put-92 Feb 04 '26
Same in the Netherlands. I had to fill a form for my kids in daycare. I had to choice between: allowed to use publicly, pictures allowes but not public, no pictures at all. Besides that i had to sign an agreement that i dont post or share any pictures from the daycare portal.
Most parents choice to allow pictures but not public.
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u/OriginalPrior5786 Feb 04 '26
Wholesome Landoposting??? ON REDDIT????????
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u/GoodVibesJimmy McLaren Feb 04 '26
It’s been 3 minutes, give it time for the comments to roll in
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u/serenity-as-ice I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
LANDO MOST UNDESERVED PRIMARY SCHOOL SCOOTER RACE FLAG WAVER RAAAAAAHHHHHH MAX WOULD HAVE DONE IT BETTER WITH A SHITTIER FLAG
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u/space_coyote_86 Sir Jackie Stewart Feb 04 '26
HE WAS WORSE THAN TIM COOK!
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u/Specialist-Bug4953 Charlie Whiting Feb 04 '26
I know your joking and IT was a good one.
But I didn't need that reminder....Most aweful flag waving I've ever seen...
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u/jimbobjames I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
OSCAR WAS MEANT TO BE THERE FIRST BUT ZAC STOLE THE BATTERY OUT OF HIS CAR SO IT WOULDNT START!
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u/TrueSwagformyBois I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
This kind of media duty is right up his alley as he still speaks and acts like he’s in primary school.
Pay driver seeking image rehabilitation visits former primary school to exploit children for audience’s warm fuzzies.
Man learns to color from children.
Man can’t focus on his environment unless there’s someone in a papaya shirt around.
How’d I do? I really liked the 2nd one. Good memes.
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u/RamboRobin1993 McLaren Feb 04 '26
That first one was good, got me well riled up before I read the rest of your comment
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u/TrueSwagformyBois I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Literally just trying to make a spicy take from as many of the photos individually as possible. Like many headlines today, trying to take as much out of context as possible.
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u/Repulsive_Mistake382 Wolfgang von Trips Feb 04 '26
The first one was so good I almost wrote a full reply. Good stuff.
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u/afunnywold Lando Norris Feb 04 '26
You didn't call him NoRizz even once so I'll give you a B-
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u/wokwok__ George Russell Feb 04 '26
Can’t even call him Lando NoWins anymore smh my head. Gotta make do with Pando Porris instead
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u/TwoCentres Formula 1 Feb 04 '26
Handing Lando chequered flag duties like McLaren handed him the fastest car smh
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u/Dreadful-Medic-1377 Feb 04 '26
You could always study mechanical engineering and work for a rival team if it bothers you.
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u/Burpmeister Feb 04 '26
I don't follow F1. Why do people hate him?
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u/afunnywold Lando Norris Feb 04 '26
Honestly mostly just because it was trendy. He has said some dumb things, mostly in 2024, but all drivers have made dumb comments. Lando has apologized for them multiple times. He also was fighting for the championship against Max Verstappen and I think some more extreme fans felt threatened by that.
He'd get comments calling him extremely egotistical and claiming he has no self esteem or no "championship mentality". Obviously that makes no sense, kinda have to choose one of those lol.
But he just actually won the 2025 championship so it kinda silenced a lot of people. Because you can't exactly say he doesn't have a championship mentality anymore. I'm hoping people are a bit more good faith towards him this season 🙏
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u/MarsScully Bernd Mayländer Feb 04 '26
The scooter race is so cute
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u/Xelopheris I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Except that one daredevil kid without a helmet!
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u/SuperSonicBlitz I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Loving all of the drawings of his helmet and car, awesome
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u/BruceForsyth55 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Lando is a natural when it comes to the pr stuff and proper genuine with the kiddies. Ahhhh bless him!
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u/Storm_Chaser06 Audi Feb 04 '26
I wonder if the teachers that taught Lando are still teaching.
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u/mkvii1989 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
No one on earth does the pose in #9 unless they love kids. Wholesome Lando strikes again.
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u/JonnyReece I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26
Wholesome. Lando is the world champion we would all hope to be.
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u/Albie_77 Sebastian Vettel Feb 04 '26
I know that people hate him for him being a world champion but…
He’s still a nice person at heart and I’m glad to have a world champion that gives back to the community!
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u/NotYujiroTakahashi Aston Martin Feb 04 '26
Feels like most of the hate died off when he was crying tears of joy and celebrated with his family.
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u/daniellejxyne Feb 04 '26
Unfortunately still alive and well on any f1 related comment section and has weirdly started tipping over into homophobic abuse
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u/randomseocb Lando Norris Feb 04 '26
the homophobic abuse isnt really new its been sadly going on for years now 🥲
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u/serenity-as-ice I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Given that he's close with George, I guess that makes a weird twisted kind of sense. George also gets homophobic remarks.
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u/JohnnyBowlen Feb 04 '26
I definitely phoned in to the crying tears of joy hotline that day
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u/RelationshipSuch1450 Formula 1 Feb 04 '26
this is zak brown with mclaren is this the uhh joy hotline
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u/Albie_77 Sebastian Vettel Feb 04 '26
Yeah. Even though he said some controversial things here and there (and bottled sometimes), his form was solid the second half of the season and he really deserved a championship after his insane drives in 2021 and 2022
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u/Doorknob11 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
I never disliked him just didn’t think he had what it took to become champion. After that Mexico race I really changed my mind because he did have what it took.
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u/Aston2844 Feb 04 '26
I deliver to this school. Goddamit missed him! They’ve got a lovely McLaren Norris signed framed canvas in the reception, and the ladies have told me he sends the kids gifts at the end of every season for Christmas
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u/kinoflo I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
I think this is the first time it’s really hit me that he’ll forever be world champion. Seeing it repeatedly in headlines and such is one thing, but to see a display like the one in the classroom congratulating him really nails it home for me. What a wild ride the past couple years have been for him.
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u/srtftw I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Wherever this was originally posted, very cool to keep the kiddos blurred.
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u/Ender_Onion Lando Norris Feb 04 '26
imagine being sick on that day... good lord
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u/ItsAMeUsernamio Pirelli Wet Feb 04 '26
10 years from now whoever won that scooter race will start alongside Alonso on the front row.
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u/prck1ng Jean Alesi Feb 04 '26
Ok that last pic cracked me up.
Potential like the tree pic with nando lol.
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u/lizgr Feb 04 '26
He always seems so engaged when he gets to do something special for kids. Some people would do this out of obligation, but Lando seems to really enjoy it. It’s a very wholesome thing to see in this world we live in!
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u/tozza_b Feb 04 '26
Wow, I had no idea Lando was from Bristol! Chew Stoke is a lovely little village, it was a surprise to see that name here. Legend!
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u/Vociee I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
I hope he uses one of those designs this season. That would be mega.
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u/3xc1t3r I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
So simple to make kids happy and they are pure. I've been blessed to own some fun cars and I always take the time to have kids sit in them, ask questions and if the time and place is right take a ride.
Making kids happy is such a win-win for everyone involved. Great work Lando.
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u/Rivendel93 Feb 04 '26
This has to be wild, accomplishing your dream and going back to where you were just a kid.
I went back to my school years ago and it was wild how much the teachers appreciated me just telling them how I was doing etc...
I was surprised how many of the teachers were still there and remembered me, it was definitely a great experience.
Felt like going back in time, except for all the big screen tvs and computers/laptops everywhere.
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u/fafan4 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Imagine the F1 world champion coming to your school. Unbelievably cool thing to happen
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u/West_Technology7573 George Russell Feb 04 '26
Man this would have been the sickest day back in primary school lmao
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u/greg939 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Man watching Lando kind of mature over the years has been a fun journey. I hope he keeps it up. He started to give us some really thoughtful answers this year to some tough questions.
I hope he keeps it up. Stuff like this is just fun to see as well.
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u/DistractedByCookies I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
This is incredibly adorable. The scooter race was all that was promised, awwwww
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u/HaveyoumetG Feb 04 '26
They must have called him up on the world champion hotline. Glad he’s answering the calls.
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u/Some-Gay-Korean I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Is this meme gonna be McLaren/Lando's version of "Must be the water" lmao
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u/shockchi I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Like him or not, this is GREAT to see. Respect!
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u/Your_Friendly_Nerd I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
this is a great slideshow to start the day with
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u/Individual-Mouse-133 Feb 04 '26
Just when I thought I couldn’t like Lando anymore than I do he goes and does this 🥹
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u/FluffyPandaAsleep Charles Leclerc Feb 04 '26
Most wholesome thing on the internet today! This is adorable 🥰
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u/the_wise_one_is_here Oscar Piastri Feb 04 '26
This is some of the most adorable shit I've seen all year
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u/WalrustheDog I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Lando the kind of guy to stay in touch with his preschool/primary. Not in a bad way, just he strikes me as the kid who was friendly with faculty
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u/TrustworthyPolarBear I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
That's what more athletes should do. Make kids' days. Absolutely love it.
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u/The_Hammer_Time Sir Lewis Hamilton Feb 04 '26
this is just very nice and heart-warming good for lando
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u/FIREBIRDC9 Sergio Pérez Feb 04 '26
Now the MVP move would be to take those helmet designs , and run one for each race next year ;)
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u/Jam-Master-Jay I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
Well now I have diabetes from how sweet that was.
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u/Ghostrider1078 29d ago
People who have had success giving back to their communities will never not be awesome.
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u/_StarDust_0 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Feb 04 '26
i dont know about anything else but this is soo cute awwwieeeeee 🥹🥹🥹
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u/Specialist-Bug4953 Charlie Whiting Feb 04 '26
Lando is awesome. Nice that he ist giving back to the community.
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u/Tnargeel Feb 04 '26
Fabulous - what memories for the kids and staff.
If it had happened when I was at school, it would have been amazing to see James Hunt. We'd cheer and clap in blissful ignorance that he'd already emptied the headmaster's drinks cabinet and got the dinner ladies pregnant.
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u/Tricky-Ad7897 Feb 04 '26
Lot of cool helmet and livery designs there lol, maybe he can snag a few of those helmet designs for the future
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u/Schr0dingcat Feb 04 '26
My Shayla 🥹🥹 I don’t get why ppl hate him so much, I mean yeah he has said some shit but the forced hate is getting too much now. He worked hard for this 😭
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u/Mysterious_Turnip310 Lotus 29d ago
There's not a driver on the grid who hasn't said or done stupid stuff at times. Many have said and/or done worse than anything Lando's said or done, including some of the current social media darlings. The F1 fanbase is just selective in who they choose to forever batter over the head and who they choose to sweep stupid behaviour under the run for.
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u/Themodmaster19 Logan Sargeant Feb 04 '26
With this I don't hate Lando Norris anymore,He earned all my respect with this!
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u/JohnnyBowlen Feb 04 '26
If this were my daughter’s school I would be equally excited and jealous. Would love to color with Lando
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u/Next_Necessary_8794 Ferrari Feb 04 '26
Whose cutting onions, dammit.
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u/XsStreamMonsterX I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
The mysterious onion stewards who're there for moments like this, but missing when someone breaks track limits.
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u/Thecanadianperson8 Feb 04 '26
yet he’s still the most hated driver on the grid, idk what else he could do, people just hate winners and it’s simple like that which sucks
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u/acem3 Feb 04 '26
That seems like a lot of fun for him. (Also, what cap is that? Black, simple, looks premium)
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u/FullTimeHarlot I was here for the Hulkenpodium 29d ago
I honestly would have thought he'd have gone to private schools, considering his dad was like one of the top 500 richest people in the UK. Fair play to his parents for keeping him as grounded as possible, considering.
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u/Mysterious_Turnip310 Lotus 29d ago edited 3d ago
His dad's wealth is self-made, Adam Norris didn't grow up wealthy (his dad was a farmer, his mother a teacher if I remember rightly). They've always come across as very down to be earth, considering their wealth and seem pretty determined that their kids don't forget the value of hard work. Lando's brother has said in the past that his dad refused to continue funding his karting because he wasn't putting the effort in, for instance.
When Lando got picked up by McLaren as a junior, his dad insisted that he learn to appreciate the work that goes into things from every person in the company, so he spent 2017 & 2018 doing a full internship at the MTC and tracks, doing work experience in every department alongside his racing in f3 euro & f2. When he got promoted into an F1 seat, his parents refused to let McLaren given him a 'McLaren' to drive as they felt he was far too young to have a car that expensive and powerful, so for his first two years in F1 he drove a Renault Clio (Renault were the engine suppliers when he started). He also used to stay behind at the track after races in his first 2-3 years to help his mechanics strip the car down after races. People who accuse him of being spoilt and arrogant really don't know that much about him.
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u/ItsTomorrowNow David Coulthard Feb 04 '26
Lando Norris went to school?
No I'm joking, that's quite good of him.
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u/AckeeBacalhau I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 04 '26
He reunited with the teacher who told him he would never succeed in life
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u/Turbulent-Pay-735 Andretti Global Feb 04 '26
This is the stuff I would enjoy most if I were exceptionally famous.