“They Hate Me”: Lando Norris Confesses to Polarizing MotoGP Hot Take That Made Him F1’s Villain

There are quite a few things Lando Norris has said recently that have made him public enemy number 1 for many Formula 1 fans. First, he broke Max Verstappen’s Hungarian GP trophy on the podium and blamed it on Verstappen. It wasn’t just the Orange Army that was furious with him. F1 fans all around expressed their disapproval of Norris’ actions, despite his apologizing later. Then, he said Lewis Hamilton always complains about how bad the W14 is, which led to the Hamilton Army waging war on Norris, calling him a “backstabber” after Hamilton has shown him nothing but love. And now, the young Brit made another claim that he feels made him an F1 villain again.

As F1’s summer break kicked off last week, Norris returned to Silverstone to watch the MotoGP at Silverstone. After watching the “insane” Moto3 support race before the main race on Sunday, Norris went onto the grid to meet a few familiar faces. With him being the British superstar he is, he appeared on MotoGP’s version of Martin Brundle’s grid walk. When asked if he was looking forward to the MotoGP race, he replied, “Absolutely. Everyone here is crazy, basically. It’s what I’ve come to realize. Moto3 was amazing. What an insane race, but I am here for MotoGP.”

He continued, “I’ve loved MotoGP since before Formula 1. They hate me saying it, but I did love it before Formula 1, and I was a big fan of Valentino [Rossi]. So, good to be back. Good to see everyone again. Good to see some familiar faces. I’m here supporting Fabio [Quartararo], so I’ll be wishing him the best.” 

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While Norris supported Quartararo on Sunday, his teammate’s loyalties lay elsewhere when he visited the circuit on Saturday.

Lando Norris wasn’t the only McLaren driver at the MotoGP British GP

Seeing how the F1 British GP this season was one to remember for McLaren, both its drivers didn’t miss the opportunity to return to Silverstone the first chance they got. With Norris making an appearance on Sunday, Oscar Piastri made his way to the circuit for an action-packed Saturday featuring the MotoGP Sprint race.

While Norris was there for his friend Fabio Quartararo, Piastri made it a point to meet and wish one of MotoGP’s all-time greats well. Who was it? The 6x champion, Marc Marquez. MotoGP’s official Twitter account posted the interaction on its page and captioned it, “Pleasure to have you @OscarPiastri! 👋 A quick chat and good luck to @marcmarquez93! 🤝” Norris’ comments might have made him an F1 villain, but contrary to that, Piastri’s presence on the MotoGP grid only made fans of F1 and MotoGP like him more.

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Do you hate Lando Norris for being a MotoGP fan before F1 interested him?