Lando Norris opens up on F1 help from Sebastian Vettel – ‘Not what everyone would expect’ | F1 | Sport

Lando Norris has opened up on the help he has received from four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, praising the legendary German racer’s level-headed nature and humility, despite the immense achievements of his glittering F1 career.

Vettel retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season after two years with Aston Martin, sending shockwaves through the paddock. Since then, he has appeared only fleetingly to promote sustainability initiatives and other schemes, ranging from biodiversity conservation to improving representation for women in motorsport.

The 38-year-old has also helped a number of his former rivals. Lewis Hamilton has cited his former title rival as one of his closest allies within the F1 community, and ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Norris opened up about the help and advice he has received from Vettel.

“Within Formula One, probably Seb,” Norris said when asked about his mentors in the paddock.” Seb’s probably been a guy that just naturally came about, and he’s been very helpful. He’s been through everything, I guess, over the years.

“So [he’s] a super nice guy, and he’s always been very helpful in the bad times, but also the good times, in terms of how to keep focused, how to keep your head down, how to get through those tough times, but also how to use the good times to continue to help yourself improve.

“To come from a guy like him… he was the guy I was watching when I was a kid, so it’s certainly a cool thing. He does a lot outside of Formula One right now, but still uses the fact that he is a four-time world champion and an incredible driver, and I think a lot of people have a huge amount of respect for him.

“For what he has achieved, but also from what he does now outside of Formula One. He’s just an incredible person. He’s a very down-to-earth, nice person.

“That’s maybe not what everyone would expect from a world champion, or someone who has achieved that kind of thing, but he is. He’s always down to have a chat, have a laugh, have a coffee, whatever it may be.”

Earlier this season, Norris was placed in the spotlight over his self-critical and extremely open media pen interviews. Many criticised the approach, and others, including 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, questioned the impact his mentality had on his performances.

Vettel, however, praised Norris for his vulnerability. “I think it’s a positive development because we are normal people,” the F1 legend told Reuters. “We do have normal problems just like everybody else.

“Heroism is fine but it’s also part of the heroism to just talk about your problems and your weakness. I think that’s a great development to see and to witness and, you know, real role models. I don’t think it’s a sign of weakness. It might be criticised by some people, but if you look at the broader picture it’s just progress.”