Lando Norris has told his parents not to worry for his safety following the death of French racer Anthoine Hubert in Belgium last weekend, but the youngest driver on the Formula One grid recognises that is easier said than done.
'I think that's what you've got to say,' the 19-year-old McLaren driver told reporters ahead of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. 'It's what I want to say, but I'm sure that's what every other driver said and then we have what happened last weekend... I still want to say that but obviously I'm a bit more nervous to say it now.'
Norris revealed that his wealthy businessman father Adam, who has accompanied him to most races throughout his career, was physically sick after witnessing the Formula Two crash at Spa. 'He can't even watch the TV on a normal race, he can't even watch my onboard (cameras) for the start,' said Norris. 'He has to go somewhere and hide because he just doesn't want to see. So when it goes even worse, the situation like it was, he can't take it.'
Norris said the events of last weekend were still very much in mind as he prepared for Monza, the fastest track of the year where cars hit speeds of more than 320kph, but it was also time to move on. As a racing driver, he said, he accepted the inherent dangers of the job and had felt no need to seek emotional support about it.
On a lighter note, the teenager looked forward to a helmet swap with Italian MotoGP great Valentino Rossi after the Monza weekend. Norris is sporting a special helmet and boots in tribute to his boyhood idol, a nine-times motorcycling world champion.
