Lando Norris says he's appreciating his growing relationship with Lewis Hamilton, insisting it's "a pretty cool thing" to spend some time with the seven-time F1 world champion.
In the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix, after losing out to Norris after a close-fought battle, Hamilton publicly commended the young McLaren driver on his team's radio.
And last Sunday at the Red Bull Ring, the Mercedes driver once again lost out to Norris while battling the latter in the first half of the race.
"McLaren, well Lando, did a great job today, they were super quick, wasn’t expecting them to be as fast as they were but we weren’t expecting to be as slow as we were so…" he said after the race.
The pair have been getting better acquainted lately, and it’s a growing relationship that Norris is embracing.
"Over the last couple of months, we have been getting to know each other a bit more," Norris told the BBC last Monday in Woking where McLaren unveiled the one-off 'Chrome' livery it will run on its cars at Silverstone.
"It’s a pretty cool thing. I have so much respect for him and what he’s been able to achieve in F1. He’s part of the reason I’m an F1 driver, so it’s weird thinking I’m now racing against him."
As an immensely talented and promising young driver, Norris stands to gain invaluable insights and guidance from Hamilton.
But the young gun admits that it isn't pressing F1's most successful driver for knowledge, at least not yet.
"I am not always the guy who asks a lot of questions to these kind of people to get to know what they’re like and what they think," Norris added.
"I do it in a more subtle way and just try to understand how they think and their thought processes and kind of understand what makes them special.
"I’m not always the most proactive in going forward and picking people’s brains, which is maybe a better way of doing it, but it’s just not who I am.
"I’m just happy to spend time with people who are at the top of whatever sport they are in, people I have a huge amount of respect for."
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