Who is youngest-ever British F1 driver Lando Norris?
- Lando Norris became the youngest British driver when he made his debut at 19
- Read More: Lando Norris enjoys low-key romance with Margarida Corceiro
Lando Norris became the youngest-ever British driver when he made his debut at 19-years-old in the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.
But the young star, now 24, actually started off a career in horseriding before heading into motorsports.
Born in Bristol to businessman Adam Norris – who boasts and £205million fortune – and Belgian mother Cisca, he left school with no GCSEs before become the UK’s youngest ever F1 driver.
The hotshot, who grew up in Glastonbury, Somerset, is also lucky in love and is dating Portuguese model and actress Margarida Corceiro, who is the ex-girlfriend of former Chelsea star Joao Felix.
The Bristol-born Lando Norris, 24, bagged his first Grand Prix win in Miami in May 2024 pushing reigning world champion Max Verstappen off the top of the podium when he took home the coveted title after more than 100 races
Over the past year, he has been regularly spotted alongside Portuguese model and actress Margarida Corceiro, only add to speculation and discussion about his romantic life
The pair were recently spotted at the Monte-Carlo Masters final amid her split from Felix in 2023
Barcelona forward Felix was previously in a relationship with Corceiro from 2019 to 2023
Early Childhood
Norris is one of four children – having an elder brother called Oli, and two younger sisters Flo and Cisca.
He attended school in Somerset but ultimately left without any GCSEs in pursuit of a career in support, later studying physics and maths with the help of a personal tutor.
Norris became the youngest go-karting world champion at just age 14 – a title previously held by Lewis Hamilton.
It was during his time on the go-karting scene that he was talent-spotted by McLaren who were impressed by the record breaking youngster.
Yet if it had not been for his love of horse riding as a child, the young star may never have made his way to motorsports.
‘I started on horse riding, so I started on four legs,’ he recalled previously. ‘But then I moved to quad biking. I was a big fan. Then I really got into motorcross.’
Norris – who admitted being more interested in MotoGP motorcycle racing than F1 growing up – said: ‘The racing is quite boring, sometimes. It’s hard to see how it pulls in fans. The races compared to other categories are sometimes a lot worse, they should always be better.
‘I don’t really know how to fix it; maybe have a load of power and no downforce, but I’m sure they will have a way. It’s better than it was, but not where it should be as the top form of racing.’
Norris holding his Lewis Hamilton hard charger award prize at the 2012 Formula Kart Stars round at Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland
It was during his time on the go-karting scene that he was talent-spotted by McLaren who were impressed by the record breaking youngster
Norris became the youngest go-karting world champion at just age 14 – a title previously held by Lewis Hamilton
Norris is interviewed on stage at Autosport International, the season opening motorport show in 2017
Career
Norris became the youngest-ever British Formula One driver when he made his debut in the competition in 2019 at just 19-years-old at the Australian GP after coming through the ranks of the garage as an FP2 star.
Not only does he have a four-year contract estimated to be worth a whopping £80 million, the racing pro has a series of luxury brand deals and has starred in a number of glam photoshoots.
Clutching onto a series of supercars, designer watches and a stunning £20 million mansion in Surrey. As well as career success, his personal life has also been blossoming.
In October 2023, Norris celebrated a big milestone. ‘100 races, 100 stickers. Here’s to the next 100,’ he wrote on Instagram, alongside a pic of him blowing out a candle on top of his helmet. His win at the Miami Grand Prix in 2024 marked his 110th race.
Team principal Zak Brown once called an even-more youthful Norris to his office in 2019 to tell him the news that he was being given a contract and full-time seat in Formula One, telling him at the time: ‘Welcome to Formula One.’
The Englishman took the news calmly at the time and has taken to the on and off-track demands that being one of the world’s biggest sporting celebrities brings with it.
Formula One’s media moguls have wrangled their product as being the glitzy and most glamorous event as their recent success in Miami showed and Norris is central to their image – and McLaren’s.
His age and combined millionaire status make celebrations a grander affair with Norris renowned for occasions where even recently he got injured accidentally while playing around partying.
The riches of his McLaren contract reward him with up to £20 million-a-year, while his ever-growing profile as a rising social media star – where he often collaborates in videos with celebrity YouTubers – brings further endorsements give him the luxuries you’d expect from a F1 superstar.
Love Life
Margarida is no stranger to flaunting her figure in a scantily-clad bikini snaps, sharing a slew of images from her trip to The Maldives back in December
Corceiro has appeared on a number of Portuguese television shows and as per Portuguese outlet Maria , was a contestant in the country’s version of Dancing with the Stars back in 2020
Over the past year, he has been regularly spotted alongside the ex-girlfriend of Barcelona footballer Joao Felix, Portuguese model and actress Margarida Corceiro, only add to speculation and discussion about his romantic life.
The pair were recently spotted at the Monte-Carlo Masters final amid her split from Felix in 2023.
Norris and Corceiro were first spotted together last May in a video on social media showing the 24-year-old driving his Fiat Jolly with her in the back of the classic car, but they have predominantly kept their budding relationship out of the spotlight.
Margarida is no stranger to flaunting her figure in a scantily-clad bikini snaps, sharing a slew of images from her trip to The Maldives back in December.
However, she is yet to share any posts acknowledging Lando’s first ever Formula One victory.
Her last social media post came hours before his victory in the United States, as she acknowledged Mother’s Day in Portugal.
Neither Norris or Corceiro have posted photos of each other on social media, despite being seen together in public.
She was not believed to have been in attendance for the Miami Grand Prix, but was reportedly seen in attendance at last month’s race in China.
Norris had previously been dating Luisinha Oliveira, with the McLaren driver beginning a relationship with the Portuguese model at the start of 2022
They were also also reportedly recently spotted together at Vigo Airport in Spain, as per Portuguese publication Correio da Manha.
Corceiro has appeared on a number of Portuguese television shows and as per Portuguese outlet Maria, was a contestant in the country’s version of Dancing with the Stars back in 2020.
Norris had previously been dating Luisinha Oliveira, with the McLaren driver beginning a relationship with the Portuguese model at the start of 2022.
At the time he shared a trio of sweet snaps with Luisinha in the desert, with one showing them about to share a kiss before larking around in the sand dunes.
Lando captioned the snaps: ‘My sunshine’ with fellow racing driver Carlos Sainz Jr responding: ‘It’s official’.
She is represented by Portuguese modelling agency Central Models and is the sister of actress Beatriz Barosa.
The relationship ended in September that year, with Norris confirming the split on social media.
He wrote: ‘Hello everyone. After time and consideration, Luisa and myself have mutually decided to end our relationship but remain good friends.
‘I wish her the world and have so much respect for her and all she does as an amazing and strong woman with nothing but kindness.
‘Please respect our decision and respect our – but more importantly and especially her privacy moving forward. Thank you for your endless support.’
Celebrity Supporters
The British driver is congratulated by former president Donald Trump following his win
Donald Trump arrived at the Miami Grand Prix and was flanked by heavy security
Lewis Hamilton, who Norris is often compared to as he was a former McLaren world champion back in the day, gave Norris a thumbs up from the cockpit ahead of his race in Miami is often seen supporting the racer.
Meanwhile a more surreal fan is former US president Donald Trump who arrived at the McLaren garage to meet Norris in person.
The embattled former president was flanked by his secret service security team when he arrived at Hard Rock Stadium to spend time with McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
He also met with F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem before congratulating the 24-year-old Brit on his first victory.
Norris said it was an ‘honor’ to have Trump supporting him, told Mail Sport: ‘He saw me after and he came up to congratulate me so I guess it’s an honor.
‘Whenever you have someone like this come up to you to take time out of their life to pay their respect for what you’ve done … it has to be an honor,’ he went on.
Norris described the interaction as a ‘cool moment,’ revealing the current Republican Party frontrunner said he was ‘a lucky charm. I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now,’ Norris joked.
‘But there’s a lot of special, cool people that have been here this weekend. Donald is someone that you’ve got to have a lot of respect for in many ways and for anyone like that who acknowledge what you can go out and do, and the work ethic that goes into things, you’ve got to be thankful for that.’
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