SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS (Belgium) — World champion Lando Norris said he misses being a winner this season with McLaren and resents the intrusions into his life that have come with global celebrity.
After 11 races without a win since last November’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the 26-year-old Briton is set to experience more frustration at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix where he starts with a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new battery.
He was second fastest in free practice behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, 19, of Mercedes, a return to form but too late for him to mount a convincing title defence.
He is 82 points adrift in fifth place after nine of this year’s 22 races mostly dominated by Mercedes and Ferrari.
He said his title success last year had taught him many things, including how it can fire up a competitive spirit, but it had also brought him the aggravation of losing his freedom and feeling “violated” by paparazzi at home in London.
“I am getting older and I want to go out – and I don’t mean to go out and party, but just have dinners and leave the house. Last year, I would just ‘game’ and feel like a loser in my own home!
“That’s not a bad thing. I would keep myself to myself and be disciplined, but now I will go out with friends. I’ve always enjoyed that, but now it is seen on social media and there are more cameras!
“For me, it’s about experiencing life outside F1, which I have a right to do,” he added according to AFP.
He said he had found paparazzi following him around in London, hoping to see who he met and where he went.
“It’s the first time I’ve started to feel a bit more violated in my life – that I can’t leave my hotel or house without someone trying to see every move I am doing.
“It doesn’t feel as though private life is private, it is just life now. That’s part of being an F1 driver, but there are boundaries and I won’t accept people following me. It’s just odd.”
