Norris says backfire from comments on Hamilton was 'tricky'

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Lando Norris says the adverse reaction to the comments he made about Lewis Hamilton after last year's Portuguese GP was a "tricky" moment.

Hamilton's milestone victory at Portimão last October set the Briton in a league of his own in F1 as he surpassed Michael Schumacher's long-standing 91-win track record.

Queried on the outstanding achievement after the race, Norris - who had just concluded a disappointing afternoon marked by a clash with Lance Stroll that had thrown the McLaren driver out of the points - gave the impression of diminishing Hamilton's merits.

"He’s in a car which should win every race, basically," a clumsy Norris said at the time. "He has to beat one or two other drivers, that’s it."

The comments did not go down well with Hamilton's fans on social media and Norris later took to Twitter to apologise for his words admitting they had been "stupid and careless".

"It was tricky," Norris told Motorsport.com. "There's no one I probably respect more in the paddock than Lewis and what he's done.

"I've got one podium, so it's not like I can talk and say he's not doing a good job, because I know how hard it is to get a podium in the first place.

"I feel like I'm a nice guy and I try to be a nice guy all of the time. But I also try to speak a bit of the truth sometimes, and say what is true, and sometimes people don't like that."

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Norris enjoys a strong presence on social media, having accumulated over 878,000 followers on Twitter that he regularly entertains with his posts and memes. But sometimes he feels his comments are misinterpreted although he never means any harm.

"My comments - and my comments always within Formula 1 - will never be to take anything away from a driver or disrespect what they've been able to achieve," he said.

"Maybe I say some bad things sometimes, and it gets portrayed in the wrong way, or maybe I just say something I shouldn't because I didn't think properly.

"But it's just because I'm a human and everyone makes mistakes sometimes. At the end of the day, I never mean something bad against anyone. It's always an emotion and an outburst which every driver does.

"I've made mistakes now, and I'm sure I'm going to make them in the future."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.