Lando Norris Interview
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0:00
24:49
Place
Indianapolis motor speed way
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a legendary race track in the U.S. It’s especially famous for the Indy 500, a major open-wheel race that lots of people watch.
Topic
Indy 500
The Indy 500 is a huge race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Drivers race for many laps, and strategy and skill both matter.
Term
weight jacker
A weight jacker is a control that changes how high or low the race car sits. In a racing sim, it’s one of the adjustments that can change how the car feels and handles.
Term
roll bars
Roll bars help keep the car from leaning too much in corners. Changing them can make the car turn in more or feel more stable when you’re cornering hard.
Topic
dirt racing
Dirt racing is racing on loose surfaces like dirt or gravel. Because the grip changes, drivers and cars have to be set up and driven differently than on paved tracks.
Term
rally
Rally is racing on changing surfaces like dirt or gravel, usually on timed sections. Drivers use instructions (pace notes) to help them go fast while navigating turns and bumps.
Topic
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the top level of open-wheel racing, typically run on purpose-built circuits and street tracks. Cars are highly specialized with advanced aerodynamics and hybrid power units, and races are usually shorter than endurance events like 24-hour races.
Topic
IndyCar
IndyCar is a big open-wheel racing series in the U.S. It races on ovals and also on road/street tracks, and the style of racing can feel different from Formula One.
Topic
GP
GP means Grand Prix, which is a major race event. It’s the kind of weekend you see in top series like Formula One.
Term
single seaters
Single seaters are race cars built for one driver. They’re common in the ladder of racing series that helps drivers learn how to drive fast in competition.
Place
Le Mans
Le Mans is a famous long-distance race in France where cars race for 24 hours. It’s considered one of the biggest achievements in racing.
Term
qualify
In motorsport, “qualify” means earning a starting position by setting a fast lap time (or meeting the event’s qualification rules). Not qualifying can be especially brutal at major events because you may miss the race entirely.
Place
walls
“Walls” are the barriers around the track. When drivers are talking about them, they mean how close you are to crashing if you make a mistake.
Term
220
“220” is how fast the driver is going. At that kind of speed, you have almost no time to think—your body and instincts take over.
Term
final lap
The “final lap” is the last lap of the race. It’s when everything is most intense and one mistake can change the outcome.
Term
side by side
“Side by side” means two cars are next to each other while racing for position. It’s stressful because there’s very little room for error.
LIVE
I don't need people to tell me when I've done a good job or a bad job.
I went through all the tough moments and I came out stronger than ever before.
I felt like I lost sight of why I race.
You don't think of the fear or the speed.
You have to be a little bit crazy, I think, to just want to go out and do that.
Hello folks, welcome to Speed with Harvick and Buxton, fueled by Poet.
Let's talk race and will.
Let's do that and we do that with none other than the reigning Formula One World Champion,
Landon Orris.
Thank you, hello.
How are you?
Nice to see you again.
Good to see you, man.
I'm good.
No, nice to be here as well.
My first time, my first time in Indy.
You're a day late.
I am.
Just one day.
I even released my race early yesterday.
You could have made it.
No, it's got to be, I feel like I'm missing something because I'm missing it with the fans.
I feel like that's going to be the most insane thing ever.
Just got to be here.
I got to go see the museum earlier with Mr. Penske himself.
Cool.
Yeah, I got the full experience so far.
It's crazy how different the experience is with the fans.
I remember the first time I came here in 01 and it's empty.
Like you go hauling ass down the front straight away and it's just everything's echoing and
then you come back for the race and you drive through a sea of people and going into turn one,
I mean, it looks like you're going to drive right into the grandstands.
We made the comparison with golf, right, that you go and play in the winter and there's no
leaves on the trees and the fairways feel really wide open.
And then when the leaves come on in the summer and some of the fairways feel narrow.
Well, especially when you're teeing off and you've got people around you.
And you play off a 10, 10, 50 nanny car.
Oh, that's the worst.
Would you go away or something and you got to tee off with people and like,
do you guys know how bad of a golfer I am?
But that's this place.
So I got, since we're talking about golf, Mr. Buxton here is a golfer.
Terrible golfer.
He's a golfer and I see some Instagram stuff of you playing golf.
Is this something that you've always done?
Enjoy?
No, no, no, no.
I, Carlos got me into it.
So during the end of 2019 into 2020.
Yeah.
And obviously during, during COVID, there was nothing you could do,
but go out and play golf basically.
So I started then, I was one of those guys.
I was like, who the hell wants to play golf?
Yeah.
What is this sport?
I'm now like, that plays golf every day.
So is that, are you going to play here?
I'm not going to play here.
I don't have time to play here.
I played the seventh.
Yeah.
Um, I was not closest to the green, but, uh, it was pretty cool.
And I would love to play here, especially, I would actually,
I think I would love to play while they're driving around.
Yeah.
Um, I think that's just a cool, cool vibe.
So we need more of these kinds of tracks.
I think in the UK, you know, when you got like golf course track.
Yeah.
I would, I'll go, guys, let's go testing every day.
It was a Silverstone golf course.
There's one like a little five minutes away.
Yeah.
It's like five minutes away.
I want one in the track.
In the track.
Talking about wanting to play at the Indianapolis motor speed way.
Did a virtual Indy 500.
Yeah.
I almost won that one.
You almost won.
You got, you got wrecked.
Yeah.
I remember this.
I remember that perfectly.
Who wrecked you?
I'm not going to say it.
I think I remember.
I don't want to say it, but no, I love that.
It was a cool, cool event.
I did that with my performance engineer that I have now,
Angie Jarvis, and he came out to do some of the Indy car.
He moved to America and came to do the Indy car stuff for a little while.
So he was loving it, but it was, it was cool.
I mean, that was just on a simulator,
but still a lot of people watching.
And I was still nervous to all of those things, you know,
and you'd have to do the weight jacker and the roll bars and stuff.
So I enjoyed that a lot.
But I mean, that's nothing, right,
comparing to actually being here.
And I just saw Felix as well.
And like, I was like, I didn't even know what to say.
Because I know he's at the same time just still taking it all in.
And that must be the most insane,
one of the most insane feelings in the world,
especially the way he did it, like, you know,
200s across the line, it must be.
Closest finish.
He's got a lot to take in.
He's a new dad.
Indy 500 champion, just unbelievable life-changing experience.
But that's it for these guys.
This race means as much as a championship.
Yeah, no, absolutely.
So you can understand what he's going through
right now in the morning after achieving your dream.
Yeah, no, he said he didn't sleep much last night.
Yeah, as he shouldn't.
So no, he celebrated it, I think, well.
And yeah, he must just be insane.
I mean, when you cost, like, there must be so,
there is so much adrenaline.
And then it's just, you know, it's done.
And then that just all sinks through your body.
And obviously you're looking at the fans
and you're trying to realize what you've just done.
So for him, I'm very happy for him.
I've known Felix not like super well, but I've known,
we've known each other since, I mean, I was like 12, 13, 14 years old.
And I watched him in Formula 3 and things like that.
So I'm, and he was part of the Clarence family as well.
So I'm very happy for him.
So take us back to that moment for you,
that realization when it's the adrenaline, but the relief.
Yeah, I was emotional.
I was crying.
I was crying.
There was obviously, it was a beautiful, beautiful thing.
Because it's, I mean, that was my whole life,
like your whole, I'm probably the same similar thing for him.
Like your whole life leads up to that moment.
And I mean, especially because this race here in India is a month long, let's say.
You got the month of May.
So you've obviously got the Indie race and then you got the Indie 500.
And it's a big build up.
That's a crazy build up for one race.
So that kind of, you know, all builds up inside you at the same time.
For me, in a similar way that my whole life was,
okay, I want to be a Formula One world champion.
So I had like 15 years, 16 years of that kind of all building up to get to that point.
And it's insane amount of, I guess, relief, but also just joy because
it's hard to make yourself realize what had just happened.
That you did it, like that I did it.
That was just one of the hardest things is almost to tell myself like,
damn, I actually did that.
I did what I once saw on TV when I was a kid.
I then once dreamed of and then it happened.
It was one of the most beautiful feelings and I cried.
There's not many things in life I cry about, but I was very, there were happy tears, happy tears for sure.
When you look back at your career, and I found this really interesting,
we had Mick Schumacher on here and talked about the karting experience,
because you talk about that journey of what it took to get there and it's so stressful.
And everything you do revolves around your job.
It becomes a job.
Yeah, it becomes a job, but it's a job.
And I felt like I until Keelan started racing my son,
I felt like I lost sight of why I raced because you just you fall so far into
the work patterns and things that go with what it takes to be successful.
And he almost, it almost wears you out just for the, for all the wrong reasons,
because you lose the passion of it.
The karting situation in Europe is way different.
We were, I was able to go over there for a couple of years with my son and witness it.
But it's all you guys have, like you go, you go kart or you don't race.
I mean, that's pretty much it.
And you guys all grow up around each other and then you kind of get dispersed around the world
in the different series for the guys that don't make it around F1.
What do you miss about that?
And just the, yeah, I mean, it is just such a pure form of fun, learning,
all the things that go in.
And what do you miss about that?
Yeah, those are, those are the good days.
You know, I think one of the biggest differences now is you just have the
responsibility of a team behind you at the same time.
Keyword responsibility.
So we never knew we didn't have as a kid.
Yeah, that was, didn't even know how to say that when I was younger.
So, you know, when you, like, when we start, you start because you just love it.
It's the same as you go and play football because you just want to go, you enjoy it.
That was like, I'm sure I was saying for you, like that was just what you love to do as a kid.
It was like, I just want to go and drive and just be on track and be free and try to go as
quick as possible.
And slowly, I guess over time, you, that drifts away a little bit.
And sometimes you need to remind yourself of it because you then do have people,
it gets expensive.
You can't afford to just go out and just have fun.
You know, you have to take it seriously.
And it becomes a job because I have 1000 people that are wanting me to do well and
putting a lot of effort into building an incredible car for me to go and kind of
perform for them.
So responsibility becomes a massive part.
And I guess that does kind of start to impact and push away the, I'm just going out to have fun
kind of vibe that you have in karting.
But you're also young.
So you're just kind of meeting new people.
You're meeting like a lot of my friends I have now.
Actually, my only friends I have now, other guys I grew up with in karting,
not the ones from school.
They're the ones I spent like 2012, 2013, 2014 with.
Because you used to be away like, I mean, I was like, for like months at a time,
you know, you were, then you were driving Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, like that was, that was a race week and you do that week after week.
So that was, that was my life was, you know, on the roads, Italy, Spain,
UK, doing all those races and you just went out and you just enjoyed it.
You know, the racing was beautiful.
You're with your friends.
You're not taking anything that seriously and you're just enjoying it for what it is,
a beautiful sport where you can just be free out on track.
And it's so, but it's so interesting because they wind up that, that European
karting world, the kids all grow up together and they go through it for so long.
Those are all your friends.
And that's the way that here you have legend cars and you have go-karts
sprint cars and midgets and so many different choices around what you guys had in Europe to be
able to learn how to race.
I mean, I think I would love more, more stuff in the UK.
I feel like dirt is a probably almost a bigger thing out here in America, dirt racing.
But I love it.
Like I want to try rally.
I want to try getting into some rally stuff.
No one lets me do it anyway, but without telling anyone,
I'll, I want to go out and try some rally and I love, yeah, don't tell Zach.
But maybe we need McLaren in rally.
He's doing everything else.
That's the next step for us.
So I just love, I love racing, you know, I started because I love to just go out and drive.
So I love Formula One, but I also love IndyCar.
I love rally.
I love my GP at the same time.
So I just enjoy driving in general.
And I also, obviously I'm growing up doing single seaters.
So when I did the Daytona 24 hour, when I get to go and try something different,
like TK is going to take me around for a couple of laps later.
Obviously we're not going to be going anywhere near as quick as they do here on the race.
But just when I get to go and experience something very different,
takes you out of your comfort zone in some ways.
And that I start to enjoy more and more in my life now.
So I'm excited for that.
You've used the word freedom when you were talking about karting.
Yeah.
I haven't seen you in two years.
You're different.
I like it.
You feel different.
You feel freer.
You haven't stopped smiling.
Yeah, of course.
Tournament championship does do well.
Well, the pressure is gone.
It's hard to not smile.
But do you feel that it's changed you?
You've been so open in the past about yourself and obviously mental health and everything like that.
It feels like you have an acceptance of self.
Yeah.
No, I mean, obviously that's been one of the biggest questions is,
how have you changed since the championship?
And in many ways, not at all, which I think is a very good thing.
There's nothing more than I love when I'm away from the track and just being with my
mates and my family and going to play golf and just being normal,
going out for dinner and just walking around town, whatever it may be.
I think, and when I've been asked a question or more, I've thought about it.
The more I've just actually realized the only thing that's really changed is the realization
that I did it.
And anytime I go through any tough moment, and that's obviously what I've struggled with
in the past is dealing with because I care so much about what I do and I want to do so well
for my team and I race.
I feel like my motivation every time I go out and race, of course, I want to do it for myself.
At the same time, I want to go out and perform for my team.
So whenever I don't do well, I'm just disappointed because I feel like I've let down the
thousand people or obviously all the fans at the same time that are there supporting me.
And therefore, you feel their responsibility and that plays a massive part on me.
And I struggled with that in the past a lot, a lot.
And you know about that.
I spoke about it and I always say it in interviews.
I'm my own biggest critic easily.
I don't need people to tell me when I've done a good job or a bad job.
I know I'm the one in the car and I know what a good job is.
And therefore, there's no different excuse.
There's a reason like why were you not good today?
Because I just couldn't drive the car and I just couldn't time things well, whatever it is.
It's just my reason.
It's not an excuse.
I just did a bad job that day and I'm happy to say that sometimes.
But what has changed is the fact that I went to quite a few tough moments last year.
I made no, I still do.
I'm always going to make like everyone does.
Everyone's going to make mistakes and make the wrong decisions,
kind of like we did on the weekend just gone.
But you got to accept them and move on in the best way possible.
And what I've learned is no point is easy to say now.
And I feel like I worked on that a lot,
but there's no point dwelling on those things you cannot change anymore.
And anytime I go into a tough moment now,
I kind of really feel like I can just fall back on last year,
which was I went through all the tough moments and I came out stronger than ever before.
I dealt with that.
I dealt with this when I had about FP1, FP2, FP3,
and I turned it into a poll in qualifying.
Like all those moments, I feel like I can just fall back on more than I've ever done before.
And therefore I feel like I don't get worried as much
when I'm just not kind of clicking with things.
I feel like, no, I know I'm going to do it because I have that confidence
that I'm just going to go out and do a good job.
And that's not something I've always had, certainly.
That's something that really changed to think a lot last year to this year.
But I also had to work hard on that last year
because I was never one that kind of ever woke up in the morning when today's my day.
I'm going to go out and just nail it.
I was never that kind of guy.
I wish I was sometimes a bit more like that, but I had to work on that.
And now I feel like I can go today, I'm going to do a good job.
But I've worked on that a lot with people away from the track and things like that.
So I've changed because of my and in my self confidence.
And that's the best thing about it.
Otherwise, I'm not changed and I don't want to change.
And I just want to go out and enjoy life.
What's it like internally?
Because, look, when Zach was here, he was the guy that had the UPS sponsor
selling it for the agency.
So I never, I didn't know.
You knew Zach the marketing man.
I knew Zach the marketing guy from the agency.
And that was it.
I never imagined that he would be running an F1 team.
I don't think he did.
But I first heard it, I'm like, what in the...
What? Who?
But it's worked out great.
And I watch a lot of the things that happen, whether it's through Netflix or whatever it is.
And it just seems like a very different dynamic from what other teams could be.
It seems like it's more of a normal race team, like American race team,
where there's communication, actual feelings of trying to care for the person.
What has that been like with Zach and that process?
And just the team in general to work through all the things that you've challenged,
but also have what seems from the outside in support?
Yeah, I mean, it's been...
I've known Zach now for 26, so almost 11 years.
It's just nuts.
11 years too many.
But I knew when McLaren was with Ron, and I've seen that whole evolution
when Zach came in to McLaren, how things have changed.
And the thing is with Zach, obviously he has that business side to him.
He understands all of those things.
But he also understands people very, very well.
And that's why he was also very good in the business side of things,
is he understands people, he can connect people and put people together.
And that's what you need in a team.
And it's probably the most important thing,
is you don't maybe necessarily need the best of the best in every single area.
But if you can just put a team together that works and clicks,
and people can support each other, motivate each other,
accept responsibility, accept mistakes, those kind of things,
you can be the best.
And that's easily what...
I can confidently say that what he's done such a good job in
is putting the right people in the right place.
Also them, then Andrea being the main one.
He's the most people person I think I've ever met in my life.
He figures out people, he knows exactly how people can work together.
He knows when things aren't right.
And he can put together a perfect team.
And I think we do have the best of the best.
And we also have someone that knows how to put all the best of the best together.
And therefore you've got a team that's now 12 constructors in a row
and trying to make it a third.
But Zach has done just a very good job in just making everyone feel very much at home
and not like I have to go into work today and I have to do this.
I have to do that by the end of today.
You want to make it that people want to go in and just go,
I want to go in because I want to get this done and I want to get that done.
And I want to get the front wing done better than ever and more perfectly
and quicker than ever because I want that on the car for next weekend.
So Lando and Oscar can go out and try get another win or a podium, whatever it is.
So you must want people to go to work, not just say, oh, I have to go to work today.
And at least he tries to kind of make that the atmosphere you have within team.
And I've been lucky to kind of see that evolution over almost the last eight years.
Because my eighth here in Formula One was just crazy.
But over the last eight years to kind of go from where we were to where we are now.
And I've been lucky to be part of that.
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Would you take on that responsibility?
After coming here, it's become a thought.
Before, honestly, it wasn't really a thought.
Also, because my whole life has just been Formula One,
get the championship.
You've done that now, you're free.
So for the first time, I can maybe go, I want to go see what's over there.
I want to go see what's over there.
And like I said, I love just all types of racing.
So I've never driven, I mean, I've done Daytona 24.
If you want to count that as driving on an oval, you can.
But this is a very different oval to that and a very different race.
So I need to just try an oval first in a car, which I think is pretty,
it's a different world to what I do now.
So especially here, I think it's not like it's a crazy bang.
I've got a whole shop of them.
If you just show up and don't want to, just show up and we'll go out back and we'll
we can do it.
But I need to try it.
The mad thing here is that sort of mathematically, every corner is identical.
Each one of them drives completely different.
Yeah, no, absolutely different.
Absolutely.
So it's like a four corner and then the wind direction changes.
Yeah, I'm sure the wind plays one of the biggest parts.
And then you've got 32 cars around you and it's all completely, completely.
But would you do the 500, would you race Le Mans?
Le Mans, for me, is like an easier tick.
I've done Daytona 24 and I love it.
I love the team aspect of it.
It's just a cool vibe.
So Le Mans is definitely something I want to do.
Indy is like, I mean, that's just it.
I feel like it's a crazier thing.
Also, especially if it's a one up event, if you're doing a championship,
it kind of feels more natural that you're just going out to do it.
But to kind of just go in for one thing like Fernando's done,
I think it's a pretty, you have to be a little bit crazy, I think,
to just want to go out and do that.
So Fernando nearly won it on debut and then comes back and doesn't even qualify.
Like that's how tough this place is.
At some point, you'll get old enough to where it's just a box.
If you really want to do it, it's just a box that you want to check.
Yeah. Well, that's that.
That'll be the plan. You're so young right now.
I know. got years on my side.
But actually, when I spoke to, I don't know, you just said it, Christian or...
No, I think it was Felix.
Like when you're on track, you're not thinking are the walls here and this is there.
And I'm going 220, whatever it is, you know, you're like,
the adrenaline has taken over so much that you're just...
I was like, what were you thinking when you're the final lap?
You're side by side, you're 12 and three.
And I think just gets clear into four.
Like, you know, what do you feel as a person when you're in that position?
And it's like, you're just, your mind's just taken over.
Everything's subconscious.
You're very much just like, I'm just going to do this and this and this.
And he said, you don't think of it.
You don't think of the fear or the speed or the, oh, if I ever snap now,
like, you know, just not then you're done.
So you don't think of it.
So I think, you know, it's one of those things that is crazy scary from the outside.
And when you watch it, you're like, damn, these guys are nuts.
And I think you still think that when you're in the car.
But I just got to, I need to get that feeling for the first time off going around and...
How many races have you had already?
Is this five?
Oh, for the season?
Yeah.
Is it five?
Seven?
It'd be really interesting for somebody like him to come in to start the season,
run the first six or seven races, run the first six races, and then go to Indy just
to get the time in the car.
Yeah.
Because that's really what you want.
You want to be competitive, right?
Yeah, you want to go out on the racetrack and feel comfortable, not to feel like you're going to crash.
It's such a different car.
It's just a different world out here.
But like streets tracks just seem, they seem like proper street tracks, you know.
Bump, ESL and jumps and everything.
We got to Arlington, which is a brand new track on the calendar this year.
Apparently, Mick Schumacher in the driver's group chat was just like,
boy, his road surface here is a little bit gnarly.
And everyone's like, this is the smoothest track we've ever been in all year.
Like, come on.
Lando, we want to thank you so much for being here.
No problem, thanks for having me.
And we would love nothing more than to see you race here for the Indy 500 to race in Vermont.
Anyway, just go have fun.
Yeah.
But as long as you're doing what you've always wanted to do, much continued success.
Appreciate it.
Many, many congratulations, Max.
So pleased to see you win the title.
Appreciate it a lot.
Thanks for being here.
Thank you so much.
Cheers, guys.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
About this episode
Lando Norris talks about his first trip to Indianapolis and why the Indy 500 feels different—empty practice days versus a “sea of people” on race day. He shares how he’s chased oval and endurance challenges (virtual Indy 500, Daytona 24, and a desire to try rally and Le Mans), plus the simulator tweaks that help him prepare. Off track, Norris reflects on championship pressure easing, racing becoming more expensive and responsibility-heavy, and how he stays accountable to himself.
Original notes
Reigning 2025 Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris joins Kevin Harvick and Will Buxton at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway!
Lando hangs out at the Brickyard to give his raw, unfiltered take on the incredibly dramatic Indy 500 finish. We dive deep into his monumental journey to winning the 2025 F1 World Championship, McLaren’s desire to win the historic Triple Crown and ask the question every race fan wants to know: could we see Lando Norris racing the 24 Hours of Le Mans or strapping into an IndyCar for the Indy 500?
From his early days navigating the fierce European karting culture to his current reality driving at the pinnacle of racing for Zak Brown and McLaren Racing, Lando opens up about how the team's culture has created success and how his life has changed since lifting the World Championship trophy.
0:00 Intro
1:00 Lando's intro to Indianapolis Motor Speedway
4:55 Winning the 2025 F1 World Championship
6:13 Grassroots racing in Europe compared to United States
11:00 What has changed since winning the F1 title?
14:43 Driving for Zak Brown and McLaren
18:36 McLaren’s desire to win the Triple Crown
20:12 Lando’s interest in racing the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indy 500
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