Lando Norris gave short shrift to questions about his summer break plans, after blasting paparazzi for invading his privacy.
Britain’s newest F1 world champion, Norris has unfortunately discovered the downside of fame.
Lando Norris opens up about paparazzi invasion of his private life
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Norris’ personal life has made headlines around the world, leading to paparazzi attempts to get photographs of him living his private life.
Such has been the tabloid interest that he was recently pursued for 40 minutes through the streets of London. And all because he was going to a friend’s place for dinner.
Norris hit out at the violation of his privacy.
“I am getting a bit older and I want to be able to go out,” Norris told the Independent newspaper. “That doesn’t mean go out and party – that just means have dinners and get out of the house.
“Last year, I would just game and feel like a loser, being in my own home. That’s not a bad thing. I would keep myself to myself and be disciplined.
“But now, instead of gaming until midnight, I will go out with my friends and have dinner until midnight. I have always enjoyed doing that, but now more of it is seen on social media, and there are more cameras.
“It is about experiencing life outside the world of Formula One which I have the right to do.
“The next level is paparazzi waiting for you in places or tailing you. I drove to my friend’s house in London, and I knew a paparazzi was just following me the whole way. And following me through London for 40 minutes, just waiting to see who I was going to meet and where I was going.
“And that’s the first time where I 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.”
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Norris acknowledged that a degree of public scrutiny comes with being a world champion, but made clear he has no intention of simply accepting it.
“It doesn’t feel as though private life is private, it is just life now. That is part of being a Formula One driver, but there are boundaries, and I won’t accept people following me,” he continued. “That is just odd.”
It’s no wonder that the McLaren driver shut down talk about his summer break plans.
Sitting with Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli in the post-race press conference after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the trio were asked about their plans for the holiday.
Laughing, both Verstappen and Antonelli pointed to Norris as the one with the big plans.
He closed the door on that.
“Oh, this has got nothing to do with anyone,” said the Hungarian Grand Prix winner.
“Good answer,” said Verstappen in response. “Plug in the battery.”
Norris, though, did share a detail or two.
“I’ll just be with my friends,” he said, “enjoy some time away with my friends and my family, play a bit of golf and padel, and try to lose a bit of weight. That’s it.”
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Originally published by Planet F1 —
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