Norris had little success in early years of karting: 'Won one race in four years'

Ahead of McLaren's car launch on 13 February, the team is releasing a five-part series, the first part of which can now be viewed on YouTube. In it, Lando Norris is seen going karting and his new teammate Oscar Piastri also makes an appearance.

The first episode of the five-part series shows Norris going karting with his team. On the way to the track, he tells how he started karting at a young age, but was not at all successful in it at first. Before that, he raced motorbikes, but after a serious crash, he decided to quit that.

"As soon as I tried karting, I loved it more than motor cross," says the McLaren driver. However, it took some time before the results came. "I wasn't bad, but I definitely wasn't good. In my first, like four years of karting I won one race." The switch to a different type of kart did wonders, however, and those first difficult years helped Norris hard in his development as a driver, he said.

The rest is history. At the age of 23, Norris is about to start his fifth season in Formula 1 this year, making him one of the young talents and more experienced drivers. In 2023, the Brit bids farewell to Daniel Ricciardo and welcomes newcomer Oscar Piastri as his teammate at McLaren.