Norris afraid people won't take him seriously, but doesn't want to be 'fake'

Lando Norris is known for his good humour and off-track jokes. However, that reputation largely stems from his first season in Formula 1. Last season he tried to be more serious and he feels that has helped.

Indeed, after 2019, Norris was afraid that his attitude meant he was not appreciated. Especially on social media, he changed his tone in 2020. Whereas in his first year he covered up a bad race with a joke, now he doesn't.

"People would love that, but they also think, 'oh he's not working hard, that's why he's not doing well enough, because he's just too jokey'. That's life, I think, and that's how social media works, because that's the image people paint of you," Norris told Autosport.com. Now that he posts serious messages after the race, he notices that people feel he is doing a better job.

He still gets reactions from people who think he is not serious enough, but within the team they know where he stands and that is the most important thing. He emphasises that despite the serious messages, he has remained the same person. "I'm not trying to be someone fake, someone I'm not."