Lando Norris | Quadcast EP.2

Hey everyone, welcome to the quadcast. For context, this podcast you're about to watch was filmed just after Lando's Monaco win. He's had Silverstone win, Hungary win, and a few weekends, and we're at the summer break now, so just thought we'd let you guys know that for context sake. the rest of the episode okay Let's get comfy. Why are you doing that to me? I did not do anything. I can't even do the intro properly. Today we are joined by Quadrant founder and Formula One driver on the weekends.

Mr. Landon Orris. Thank you. You're our first guest. How do you feel? Oh, what a privilege. Do you feel honoured? I do. I do. I like to be here and not have to ask questions. Can I have the first question? How long have you two known each other? 20... It'll be like 2012. 2012, yeah. End of like 2012?

Yeah, because we would have started testing. Our first year together was 2013. Yeah. So end of 2012, we started practicing together with the team that we were joining for the year. That's crazy. That's a really long time. 12 years. I remember... Wow. Seeing you on track probably two years before that, like 2010. Probably winning or something. It was at PFI years ago. I just came. Probably not. No, no, no. I came back from over from Singapore for the first time to do some driving in the UK.

And you were in that little, the coma cadets, Hondas? 2010? 2010. Yeah. Or 09 even. Yeah. It was your first helmet, the chrome one with the orange, and you were like that big. This is getting a bit spooky now, Max. No, but I remember. And you were winning. You won that weekend or something. No, not possible. And in my first four years of racing, I didn't win a race.

Well, I don't know. You were that big. And I totally dragged around. Yeah, wow. I probably doubled in height since then. I was just more amazed at how small you were. I was like, who's that? I was tiny, tiny. Like teeny, tiny. Yeah, like tiny, tiny. There's a picture of us. I remember 2014. Yeah. It was a picture of you and me. We're the same age. I have like double his height. I have him like around my arm and he's like down here. That's quite sweet.

And then you've been friends ever since? Max looked like an athlete back then. And you're saying not now? I didn't say that. I just said back then he looked like an athlete. Well, for this podcast, shall we all get on?

Yeah? Yeah, we can do that. Nice. I'll give him 30 minutes. Okay, that'll do. That's all we need. Should we discuss our set? Yeah. Let's. This is the first time everyone else is seeing it, isn't it? Yeah. It's completed today. It's a big moment. It's a big moment. So the set, we have a lot of inspiration and things from our athletes. So we've obviously got your helmet from Singapore. We've got Fabio Cotraro's. We've got Ivan's helmet, another one of your helmets. We've got...

Keegan skateboard over there. We've got Lotta's jersey. So she got an invite and raced with that against the guys in MX2. So awesome jersey. This is like a... little sneaky what you're wearing it's coming soon um and then obviously we've got more quadrant themed stuff we've actually got the boots from japan here as well come on i was thinking what the smell is coming from this corner but

Anyway, champagne. And then we've got a picture of Bianca racing and Mr. Oliver Solberg. Which looks like Mr. Solberg. Rally in Africa. Action photo. It's very cool. So, yeah. What's this middle one? The one with the gloves? That's just an artwork. I like it. It's cool artwork, isn't it? Should we tell you what this podcast is about?

Do you know what this podcast is about? No, I want to test you guys. Great answer there. Well, we can tell you. Okay, okay. I know, I know, but let's explain to everyone. Well, we're going to talk to athletes. Yeah. People in the motorsport world about what they do. Sure. Other than racing. That includes motorbike riders. Yeah. Everything. Hopefully F1 drivers. Yeah. Rally drivers. Yeah. Sports car. All of it.

And then also maybe some people that aren't athletes as well. Yeah. So like F1 presenters, people that work. That same strategy, for example. Yes. There's lots of jobs. Yeah. Lots of roles. Yes. Hundreds of people in the paddocks. Yeah. We want to know what they're doing. when they're not in the paddock and it all starts here today yeah day one oh that's cool day one day one so shall we do some quizzing okay lando likes to do when he's not racing get to know me yeah can i have a question please

I mean, I realise I've had several, but I'm going to have another one. Please, I probably know a few of the answers. You crack on. Why does everyone play golf? Why is that a thing? Are you against golf? Why? I played golf. Okay, okay, cool. I briefly played golf. I had clubs and everything. But why does everyone do it? Why is it like a trend? Great question. I think it generally is probably...

Genuinely, it's one of the hardest sports. I've not tried every sport, so maybe I can't say that, but I think a lot of people say it, that it's one of the hardest sports to do. And it's like such an instant... You get such an instant reaction from your shot that you get like an instant amount of relief or not relief, like joy that you hit a good shot or like disappointment.

that you messed it up and within like a couple a minute you know you'll have another chance to make amends and try and get that joy and i don't know why there's such like an such an amazing feeling Do you think maybe as well, like with F1, if you get it wrong, it can be quite disastrous. So you've got to be really focused and you can't really test it too much. Whereas with golf, like if you get it wrong, the worst thing is going to be.

hit a bad shot so you kind of have that you can be a bit more debatable loose with it sometimes I'm more sad to lose a pro v1 into a bush or a bowl of water then I don't think you should say that. Yeah, I mean, they're very different sports. So for me, it's like golf is still relaxing compared to my sport.

so yeah it's got it's a completely different kind of minds the mindset i would say is the same it's the how well can you come back from you know making an error making a mistake how close can you be to perfect um how can you be like consistent I think the mindset you need is very similar. It's just different. It's a much slower game of something. But I think the main thing, the best part of it is it's competitive.

Are you all, like, ridiculously competitive in everything we do? I think so. I don't think about it. We are. Do you think, like, we are? It gets really bad on the old boss. It gets a bit... Sometimes you always think we might not be friends.

like nasty yeah we've not spoke to each we'll be in the same golf buggy we won't talk to each other for like an hour yeah because one of you don't has done bad yeah or just one's done a bad day then they rub it in and then it starts to get a bit that's quite mean at that point

Yeah, but as soon as we finish, then it's all right. And it's fine. You'll have a little laugh at the guy who laughs. My next question, why does everyone also play Paddle now? Similar thing, I think. Just great vibes. There's four of you. You have a great game. I think it's quite an easy sport to get into. But it's, again, just like 2v2. And it's very accessible. I want to do tennis, I want to try more sports.

but it seems too much hard like tennis i think is harder than paddle yeah it's really how do you have time to do all of that like do you have the mental space like i don't get how you have the mental space to take up another sport and like put your all into another sport i don't think i

I want to put more into doing the things I do, like golf or paddle. But I think because I have little time off. But let's say during a European race week, I'll still have, you know... like a monday tuesday wednesday off just sort of like three days um obviously some weeks then i'll have simulate like sim work to do i'll have marketing days so sometimes it might only be one day off sometimes it can be up to three

but because for me it's a relaxation going to do these other things it's not like it's stressing me out or you know it's not like it's too much like for me it's actually it takes my mind away so much from racing as much as it's fun and competitive it takes my mind away from the bad things of my actual job which is erasing and then formula um so it's a good thing for me to do it's not just uh to go and have a laugh and when you say f1 is your job do you see yourself like

is it you like are you a racing driver and that's you or is it your job uh no i don't i've said like in loads of minutes it can't be my it's not a job so it is you especially the driving part it's not the job the other bits are maybe the job The driving bit is just, it's me because that's what I wanted to do when I was a kid. Like... Always? Like even when you were like teeny tiny? No. Started off on horses. Really? Yeah.

No way. Yeah, I was a horse. I was a natural. I hated it. I was tiny. No, they were like horses. No, they weren't. If that started running with you when you were that big, you'd just bounce off the back. Imagine me, mate. I'm like, woo! I'm not touching the saddle. So I'd said I was three years old or something. Yeah, but that didn't last long.

Then I got a little quad bike, I think it was like an electric quad bike. I had that, and that's like my first taste of driving. My dad sold it, so it got stolen. He sold it because it was... too dangerous on. I was going like two wheels everywhere. He said, yeah, someone's taken it. He got rid of it. So that was sad. And then it apparently is a lot safer to ride a motocross bike. So I actually, I think for like six, my brother had it.

Then he got passed to me, like the little Yamaha, the 50cc. Yeah. That's kind of like where then more things started. Because I love MotoGP, loved Valentino Rossi. And he was like a big reason why a lot of things started. And then all progressed from there. Then I got started watching on TV. Then I got into motor racing, four wheels, two wheels, all of it. Eventually karting, went to go watch a race, wanted to have a go. So I've always enjoyed it.

And I think when you're like seven, six, five years old, all the way to probably when I was 13, I only ever did it because... Especially the karting world. It's so like you're there with mates and friends. You're making new friends. Yeah, it's fun. You're only doing it because it's fun. Not because you know in Formula One you're going to live a crazy cool life and get paid well and do all those things. I just did it because I loved it.

Now all these other things are bonuses of doing something that I love to do. So I know how lucky I am to do that. Obviously, the bit I'm not as natural with is all the behind-the-scenes stuff, the interviews, the marketing.

like that's a bit more of the job um the racing and the driving is not the job the rest of it probably is because it's not something i comparing to race because i love that so much anything comparing to racing it's hard for me to enjoy because of the enjoyment i get from driving so that's a little bit more of the job is the talking to people and stuff because it's not natural for me i'm not like the most social guy so i've always found that quite difficult um and it's still something like i not

always comfortable with now but i got i mean i've done it for years now so i may look like i am but deep down sometimes i struggle with some of those moments you know so yeah that's the trickier part for me the driving is

It's the best job in the world because I'm employed, but I've always done it my whole life because I love to do it, not because I am. And you still have that love? Like when you get in the car, you still feel that? Yeah, I think it's like... It's different. I think deep down I have it. Sometimes it's a bit harder to always realize it because you're so focused and you're always thinking, how can I do better? How can I improve? You're working with your team.

There's pressure, there's nerves. You know, in the end of the day, I'm still doing it because I love it. But I know I have like the whole team who are making a car. behind like watching me expecting me to go out and do well then it changes things a little bit because then you you know you almost at times forget about just going out and enjoying it and

That's I think sometimes where I've gone a bit wrong is I kind of get too far away from the reason why I do it. Which is maybe easier for some people than others like to kind of drift away from. but um i think that it's easy to do you know when you're so like in it and you care so much about it you kind of lose track of your whole reason why you're there in the first place um uh

But then you always have those moments when you're like, okay, come back to reality and I'm doing it because I love it. And then you, you know, you have to remind yourself either to remind myself of those kinds of things, even as glorious and as cool as it always is.

Sometimes when you're so into it, you're so focused on what you're doing, you kind of forget sometimes the more obvious, easy things that are often the most important things to remember. I found that when I was going up through the ranks. I found it just got less fun every step up. Yeah. And like now that I've stopped racing. I don't think it does get, it doesn't get less fun. You just, your perception shifts of work and focus over it in like pure enjoyment.

You're so engulfed in that world. And then you get to like when I was in F3, it's just you start looking up to Formula One. Yeah. It's the only thing that's in your brain. Yeah. And it like takes over your whole life. Now I've taken a step back and I don't race anymore.

And I look back at all the memories. I'm like, wow, what I was doing was actually like so incredible. I never said that to myself when I was actually racing. Because you're always looking for that one race. I was just like stressed or thinking about the championship, the next race, the...

pleasing sponsors you know so and you also don't want to just go into it and go yeah i just do it for fun yeah yeah because you want to prove you're the best you want to prove you're better than the others you want to prove like you deserve to be in that seat i can't just go around saying yeah i'm just doing it for fun

like it's a cool thing to say yeah but but you know like it doesn't that doesn't give the perception or show you like people that you're almost caring as much as what you do yeah um so yeah i think it's

It's hard to balance. I don't think not enjoying it. It's just your mind is so taken over by how to become a better driver. And you have so many worries of why did I make this mistake? Why have I messed that up? Why did I... not drive as well as this other guy whatever it is you're so engulfed by those things um you forget like that that one sometimes but you still i still like like it's the like i said it's the best job i think in the world it's the coolest job

I always know like how lucky I am. So I'm not complaining of that at all. It's just, yeah, when you're so focused and you're so driven to be the best and to improve and to prove yourself to others.

um uh you kind of disconnect from that that feeling at times it's like you forget sometimes you never take that step back and go so you had a horrible weekend but you never take that step back and go well if i told my 17 year old self i'd be 10 points off the championship or leading the championship i just won in monaco

Yeah, because it's like relative to the moment you're in. He would have grabbed that situation and gone, take me to that moment right now. But you may get home and be like, all depressed. If I finish second in a race. You're annoyed. Yeah. I'm like, worst weekend ever. right but for anyone else in the world probably seeing it they're like wow that's crazy cool well you told the kid in cart and you you just finished second by the way in uh spain mate so like amazing i know

That's awesome. That's the outsider perception. But inside, you know, you're relative to what... was good for you on that day you know what was your your goal your objective what would have given you that joy yeah was winning the race so when you're second then but i think also because athletes are so highly competitive naturally you're constantly competing with yourself And it's so immediate. I think it is. You look at how you did last week or the day before or the session before.

you're always it's natural because you set your own goals for like each session right no that was my question as well what is your goal because obviously you were saying you move up through the ranks you hit f1 yeah then what do you go okay i want to be world champion okay now i want to do it twice Or is it not healthy to set those goals? Would you rather just play it week by week, race by race? That's definitely what I do now. How did you approach that first weekend?

Obviously, you get to F1, that's the dream. It's a load of happiness and celebration in a way. But then you get to the track that first day and it's like, I've got to keep myself here now. This is actually... Really? When you think of the 20 drivers in the world. Yeah. And then I'm like, I'm one of them. Yeah. There's so many that wanted to be in your seat and have that opportunity. There's always going to be like a pressure of just knowing that.

Like, I got to where I am, but there's plenty more people who are trying to take it away from you, right? It's not like you can start to slack off a little bit. You've always got to be on the front foot. be improving and, and, and proving yourself. Um, but yeah, I don't know. I can't really, like Australia when my first ever race was. like that was just a lot there's so much everything's just like scary did you cry no i don't get emotional really no sometimes i want to cry and i can't

You could just have a little cry. No, I can't. I just, I don't. That is pretty. Really? Pretty close day. Like Miami, I wanted to cry. I just couldn't. Because I thought, yeah, I'd be cooler, wouldn't it, if I'm crying? I just couldn't cry. There's a lot of other emotions going on. It's just like... You know, the only emotional moment I had was Paul in Monaco. Why was it so emotional?

just because sometimes proving to myself that i can do it is like that's how i've always been my whole life um you know you see something like a lot of things i'm majority of things are met like mental you know um and and that's the tough side that's almost the toughest side of everything so for me like i always the happiness comes from when i prove something to myself

That's how I've always been driven and how I've always, I feel like, succeeded because I've never had any false beliefs of anything. So when I kind of... you know when when you have like a trend of some certain things um and i was like this year so my qualifying has been a bit worse than it have been in the previous years and i've struggled just a little bit more then of course every now and then you question you question yourself a little bit

like i do um that's just the honest side is like i'm like damn am i just not as good as what i was last year or have i lost a little bit or is it because you know i'm not getting the correct feelings um When I'm realistic, then I'm like, well, I'm against the best guys in the world. Like, I mean, if it's not perfect. I mean, the top thing in the world against the best drivers in the world. Things aren't perfect. I'm not going to be on pole. I'm not going to be in the position I want to be.

And I question myself. It's not that I don't believe in myself. You just question it. It's just I question it. The thoughts there, they creep in. And the thoughts there. You have to try and just know. Yeah. And I don't think it's a bad question to have. No. um as long as you turn it into a good thing you turn it into a positive thing use it and you're like okay let's look into it let's see what you're doing differently to last year why are things not as good

Which is the trickier part. It's like having whatever thought you have, but turning it into a positive thing, another negative thing. And I had those questions for a little while. So when I went to Monaco... trickiest one of the year like you know so many things can go it can just go so easily wrong you misjudge something but like that yeah you win the wall out game over game over you know um

at the speeds you do and it's just it's crazy i wish i could give people the perception of being in the car like with the helmet on sitting there especially in q3 like run two you're just like you have to ramp it up i'm screaming in the helmet because i'm like it's it's so crazy on boards and nothing to it does it justice and it's

It's cool because I'm like, yeah, I'm one of the few people in the world that get to experience that. But I'm also like, I wish other people got to experience it so they can realize what it's like and how nuts and difficult it is.

Because the onboards look easy. You look at it and you're like, I felt like I was about to shun into the wall. I drove around there in Formula Renault and you watch them go past it like this. And I was like, whoa, the whole time. So it's frustrating. I can't imagine this one. Monaco is like that one place qualifying is the most important thing in the world. And I went out and I proved like, ah, I've still got it. And then I proved to myself, then I'm like, damn, I have still got it.

And like, that was just a very cool moment for me. But of course, I think everyone's different. Like, you know, you have those people are just like, wake up in the morning, I'm going to win, I'm going to do those things. And I tried to do some of those things, but...

yeah everyone has their own way of doing things finding what works and i think that is the thing you've got to find out what motivates you what pushes you um how to get in that correct headspace because i think it's very important and it's easy to overlook all of those things because a lot of my career I was very gifted with just being able to go out and drive very quickly. And that worked for a lot of my career. And then it started. It doesn't run out, but you...

The higher up the order you go, you know, F2 or Formula Renault, F4, F3, F2, you're going against better and better people who rely less and less on their disabilities and more on... How can you work to become the best driver? I think that's what also added to the, probably this year, the frustration with qualifying. Like your whole career, you've always been. Yeah. Like rapid in qualifying. Yeah, I know. Like I remember when we were 13 and come in, I'd look at the shit, I was like.

whatever i don't know how he's just done that but yeah but that's never been an issue for you so i think it was another like first time of but it's cool it's interesting stuff like when you when you like now we're talking about a little bit but I think what I find really interesting is learning about that from other people, other athletes and understanding what they think, you know, how do they feel? What do they think of? What drives them? And it's pretty crazy.

different people how they just live their life yeah um like i i that's one of my coolest thing like if i was yeah like i would love to be on that side of the sofa then seeing what other drivers and other athletes maybe not other drivers other athletes in all different sports like how what makes them tick and what motivates them how do they get through those moments like that's a

Well, you can. That fascinates me. I'll join. I'll come and watch this episode. This will always be open. Can I ask you some non-racing questions? Yeah, that's the best. Let's get into the non-racing stuff. Do you actually like cars?

because i get a feeling that some f1 drivers like f1 driving but not bothered about cars like normal cars yeah um i love cars like so much yes how many cars do you have too many roughly Ballpark figure. I think three arrived today, didn't they? I sold some recently, so number's gone down. Well done. Thank you. I'm going to sound like an idiot. Take five off, it's fine. Okay. 16? Shut up. I don't want to come across like you. Yeah, but you love them. I don't think I've even got 16 pairs of socks.

I mean, I've got four and I thought I was pretty good. That is pretty good. You've got four cars. Thank you so much, Max. What's your favourite one that you've got? My Range Rover. £800 it cost me. Really? L322. You know, for our golf trip, we've been looking at cars. We have. L322. We've been looking at how can we do a road trip on the least amount of money possible.

That's new to me. Well, me and Ed have been discussing it. Are we intense? We've been on Autotrainer looking at cheapest cars. Are we going to do that idea we said, actually? One car each? Really? I think it's a cool idea. Get those guys to film it. I'm going to ask you what car I should get for the trip. Like either we're going to do it all in four of us, golf trip, like a week in a camper van. Like not, I don't mean an RV.

A little one. That's way too cool. A little camper van. But wait, all four of you in the camper van? Yeah. That's going to be quite tight. You know? That's going to be quite tight. I already shotgun not doing the, you know, the... Yeah, and I've done it by the way. Tom can do that. He loves all that. But I love my cars. And I love his story because I love his story. I like more than modern cars. What's your favourite car that you own?

my favorite car um my favorite favorite like the one that's meant the most to me um it's probably my most proud car that i'm most proud of is my mirror let me get you mirror beautiful car i think one of the most beautiful cars ever made That's the one I'm most, like that was my first, I mean, everyone has different things that they like. Milestone. But that was like, this was my first proper gift to myself.

of like, I'm going to spend a little bit of money and buy a very nice car. There's maybe a couple that I'm like, I just have to... My Cobra, for instance. You've got to get it, yeah. I was like, I just want to drive. I have to drive. I need to drive a Cobra. And I drove into Silverstone and I was like, yeah, this is the coolest thing ever. It's so loud. It is the loudest thing in the world. I think I'm deaf now because of it. You have like a mind hearing after 20 minutes. Yeah. Right.

But I do love my... I grew up liking cars. My dad loved them when he was younger. And... Yeah, when he was younger, he loved them and he had the passion for them. And now I almost get to share his love for cars. And, you know, we get to travel the world. And my parents, my dad and my mom come to quite a few other races, especially my dad.

And now I'm going to get to live his dream, I think, of when he was younger. Because him and his dad used to go to some of the races or a few of the races. And they're like, this is the coolest thing ever. So I think that's why. My dad loves it so much as he's always loved the cars.

But now he gets to experience it kind of through me. So I think that's pretty cool. I think that on a smaller scale as well, like fathers and it's often fathers and sons, but I think increasingly maybe fathers and daughters or mothers and daughters. Like I think cars are a really universal thing to share and enjoy. And it's for so many people, it's such a passion to be able to share. Like I do that with my dad all the time. Like we share that passion.

much better and thanks he crashes a lot more than me so maybe i'm better um but i think it's really nice to share that um i think it's really special yeah because he could eat like my dad came to every single race for I know what, like seven years? Wow. Every single one. Commitment. I think I saw your dad more than my dad in the carting years.

Like over the year. Like he would drive us, you know, the first four or five years when he was racing in the UK. He was four ways there. You know, you drive up to Scotland and you drive five, six, seven, eight hour trips. So. Yeah. He still loves the track. He's always just buzzing around. He's loving it. He does love it.

Can I ask you a couple of just like really weird? They're not weird. They're not weird. I'm excited for this. Have you ever sneezed in your crash helmet whilst racing? I did actually the other week. Was it scary? Yeah. I mean, because you shut your eyes. Your eyes closed. Yeah. I think it was on the safety car. Well, that's fine then. It was. Unless the guy in front brakes. Yeah, because it was, I think when you were, I think it was Miami. I think it was Miami. It was safety car.

And it was literally, I think it was Fernando's car was in the wall. Under safety car. And you're under double yellow. So you're going like super slow. You're super close to the guy. And you know when it's like you just feel it. You're like. and i'm like oh my god the car just behind you because yeah i also didn't just have the erection to hit the brakes because you just shut your eyes and i was scared i was going to get rear-ended um but i had it yeah

I think it was generally one of my first ever ones I had. This is a full story for the FIA. Yeah. Do you ever watch like really rubbish TV? Like really shit British TV? Not really. How can you call yourself a Brit? Do you still call yourself a Brit? I don't watch TV. Whatever.

Don't think I've ever watched you bang the TV on. No, I've never just gone, yeah, I've never watched some TV. I think we've only ever done it. Really? We've forced ourselves to like just chill out and watch something. Just because we've been flat out the whole day and we like make ourselves, let's just watch this, try.

What about, like, the Bake Off? No. I mean, when I go back to my parents' house, then, you know, we might all watch something like that. That would really chill you out. I genuinely don't think, right? So I... I moved out and I shared a place with another one of our friends, a guy called Sasha. I moved to Guildford when I was 16, 17. And we shared a place together. And we had the TV. I don't remember.

ever watching tv and since then so 16 i don't think i've ever kind of turned on and just wanted to sit down and watch tv wow yeah like eight years no to no tv even when we lived together we never really watched That's very grown up. Well, I just think I was into other things, gaming and...

I respect that. We did a lot of that. We did quite a lot of game. Yeah. On ordering Katsukari's, little Wangamama's Katsukari's. That was a good routine. I reckon that year I was probably the highest Chicken Katsukari orderer. Really? Consumer. House of Entries. I don't know. We lived together for a little bit. That Italian place. Yeah, that was very good. Okay, I have another question.

Would you ever want to be a stunt driver? No. For example, James Bond? No. Why? I just... You do donuts for a living. I'm quite like things I would like to do and just things I wouldn't. And I think that's a problem because some things I'm like, yeah, I'm just not going to do it. But often those things that you don't want, like the things I don't want to do are the things that I'm grateful for doing after I've done them.

That makes sense. It's a bit complicated the way you just said that, but we'll go with it. I'd do a bit of James Bond. Like me? I would never do skydive. Why not? Never do skydive. Why on earth would I want to jump out of a plane? Yeah, I have no interest. We'll do that at some point. But the thing is, I will do it at some point. Can you imagine how you feel after? Everyone says, I don't want to do it. They land and they're like, that's the best thing I've done. And I'm like, my mum did it.

Yeah, like my sisters did it. But now I'm like, no chance. It just doesn't interest me. I'd be too scared. I'm scared of heights. Really? I'm very scared of heights. Okay, well, maybe don't do that. Just another quick question. Did you play Mario Kart when you were little? Obviously. What character were you? I think I'm still the champion. I bet you laughed. No, you didn't. Please don't fight. When? Oh. On the Wii, two months ago. You've been playing Wii for years still.

No, I haven't. I've not touched a Wii remote. I got the Wii that day. No, you didn't. No. You streamed for hours of it. Couple of days before then. I actually played a bit of Mario Kart today as well. Did you actually? Told you. Exactly. I think we're playing the Wii. Nothing wrong. I don't think I've played the Wii for years and years and years. Okay, can we go back to my question? Yes. What character are you? I think this says a lot about a person.

Ready? Yeah. I'm worried. Okay. I was... Depends. Later series. Cooper Trooper. Interesting. Next. I played as... Yoshi or Shy Guy? I was Yoshi. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, my brother was still Yoshi. Yoshi. Ollie was always Yoshi, so I never could take Yoshi. Great character. Would you have had Yoshi? Was that the one? I do like green.

But there you go. Yeah. On the Switch, you can choose the colour of them now. Yeah, but in the beginning, on the DS, you don't have any of these characters. No, no, no. The Switch, now the new one. Yeah. So what does it say about us Ikiyoshi players? I don't know exactly, but I just know like...

It's like a star sign. Yeah, I think so. What does it mean? I think Koopa Troopa is weird, isn't it? Yes, absolutely. Never going to go anywhere. Strange decision. I think that's it for my weird questions. Oh, wait, one more. Have you ever driven a Land Rover? Yeah. Do you enjoy a Land Rover? I have one. Shut up. What do you have? It's a really old one, but it's all been redone. And it's like my summer. 90?

Or 110. Big or small? He's got too many cars, doesn't he? 90, 90, 90. It was 90. 90, petrol. How many seats in the back again? Straight piped. Four or six. I was four, so it's all open, so I cut the roof off. You can put the front down. Yeah, Nardo grey in a blue leather interior. It's not very Land Rover, is it? No, it's not, but...

You like it? You like it? I think that kind of brings us towards the end and the close. And we want to do a section on the podcast of a question that we ask every guest at the end. And it is... What is your first memory of motorsports? That first core memory that sticks out for you. Your journey starts with that. Wow. What was my first thing? First thing was playing, watching my dad play Gran Turismo. Really? Yeah. She's sweet.

Pretty freaking good to me. So he played on the PS2. Like that was my first thing. Was watching my dad play Gran Ciosmo. Which was cool. But I think where it clicked, it ignited for me was I enjoyed playing it on the controller. I couldn't be my dad at the beginning. And he genuinely, he used to do like three hour races and like crazy. Thousand laps for Fuji or something. You're like, yeah, no chance for I doing this.

So I think the competition almost started there. But I think where it clicked for me was eventually or somewhere we had a wheel and some pedals. I was, what, three, four years old? No more than four for sure. And I remember like the little purple table is the little table next to my parents' bed. I'll shove all the stuff off and I'll put it in front of it. I'll sit on the edge of the bed on their TV.

And pedals on the floor that I could barely reach. That was like on some books and on a block. And then it was one that, you know, you screw on the steering wheel and you tape it on and everything. And then I started, so I did my first race. And I think when you plug in the wheel, traction control gets turned off. And we were trying to do this race and we couldn't do it because I can't remember what track it was.

Um, and we didn't know like that much about cars, but traction control got turned off. And then I won this race that you had to, you know, you just get a gold for whatever. And, um, I was like this is my biggest achievement ever that I got on the wheel and I unlocked it and I remember my parents had like friends around and I opened the window

dad i did it and i won the race and this is i was like oh maybe i'm pretty good i was like three four years old so i don't think i maybe thought all of that but i think that was my first moment of you know wheel pedals and I think that was the moment it kind of clicked onto I like this that was my something clicked that was my little my thing winning this race finally I'm going to Rizzo

Yeah, that was cool. So I think that was my first moment of, you know, of realizing that I loved it and I really enjoyed, even though it was just a game. And then the other moment, I know I've gone into a few moments in, the other moment was the first time I went to something. And I remember it was pretty sure it was after school on like a Friday night. It was Super Bowl, it was a British championship.

at clay pigeon in yoval clay pigeon and i think my dad took uh both my brother uh and myself there after school I'm pretty sure I was in school uniform, blue, blue uniform. And we went in and watched. I was like, this is the coolest thing ever. Yeah, racing around. I was like, this is sick. And my dad went around to see all the dads and people. He's like, Dad, I really want to have a go.

He went round to people and asked if they had any old stuff that they didn't want anymore, like they were throwing out. And we came away. Because I was still probably like six at the time. He came away and I remember the name of the guy and I had this blue suit, like, you know, with like all the stitchings on and everything. This blue suit was way too big for me.

um considering this is coming from like a 11 year old or something and I was six tiny uh she was way too big um boots which were just i could fit two feet in one boot um but we came away with like kit and then like every day at home i would want to put on this guy's suit and boots and like these massive gloves and that was like i felt like a that was a racing driver for a bit um and that was my first time like witnessing it seeing it going like wow i want to have a go i want to try that um

And that was a cool moment because that was like, again, another click, another kind of a thing that set it off of like, well, I want to be, I feel like a racing driver. And now you are one.

Now I am one. You did it. This is crazy. You did it. Crazy, crazy to think of me then. I can picture some of these things so well. Me then. versus like and picturing you know watching formula one uh fernando like lewis you know so like 07 then yeah fernando lewis um jensen like all of the coolest races that ever happened And like, wow, that's so cool. I'm watching Formula 1. I wake up at 3am, 4am to watch some of these races. And now that's me.

And now you're beating them. Yeah, and I'm still racing again. Some of these guys are still racing. They're still going. I just find it, like, it's so... Yeah. It's such a crazy thought. I don't know. It's hard to, like, say. in words that that is now me like that's what i once never even thought was possible and and yeah you know your debut weekend did you have that moment of

Like you went out of the pits and then Lewis is like right in front of you. You're like, that's Lewis now. I know you get more accustomed to it because you've been around the product for a few years at that point. Because Adam McLaren at the time was Fernando. So I was still like, I was still... part of mclaren in formula one ish but i'm like i was like oh my god he's fan you know i was still like i was still and the thing is i'm still

Maybe not quite as much like that because I've grown a bit, but I'm still like that. Like, I'm still like, wow, I'm racing Fernando and I'm racing Lewis. Do you still look up to them? 100%. Like, even though... you want to beat them more than any like you just want to beat them and they're competition and you know you have little squabbles little fights every now and then and yeah you say some abuse to one another every now and then

in the cool down rooms uh like i'm still like man so it's just cool i'm still racing i'm racing for lando and seb

And these are some of the greatest that I've ever been in the sport. And I'm racing against them and I'm chatting with them. And, you know, I still, there's a lot of moments when I still feel like, you know, I'm just at home and I'm... sitting on my sofa or i'm not watching tv but uh you know i'm just sitting on my sofa and i i kind of have stuff's always going on in my head but i'm like i'm racing

in Formula One against, like, the best guys in the world in this sport. But I still feel like I'm just another... I feel like I'm still, like, a guy that's just... You don't feel like you're one of them? Sometimes not. but you are because i want to go you know i just i still get home and i'll we'll play some games on you know on the computer and um yeah you know i i go to buy a few croissants from the local shop

Like, I still do so many things that are just so normal. That's probably healthy to have that balance. Yeah, but then you have fans. Like, the thing that makes it feel so special and cool is the fans. But at the same time, I'm like...

People sometimes, I'm so like when I'm just walking on the street at home, you know, you're so like just listening to my music and I'm just like, I'm just going to get some food. And then someone shouts your name and... then then brings you back into like the world of like oh i'm you know formula one driver and those kind of things would you rather that there were no cameras and no nothing just race every weekend um no

because then i think you don't it's not special as special it's so special because you're doing it but the fans like silverstone is it's busy this year because i'm gonna have my own grandstand and stuff But Silverstone, when you just drive in and you see people wearing your name and your number, you're like, this guy's here because he wants me to win. I just think it's such a cool thing.

yeah and those those moments like i never get over like sometimes you forget a little bit well i'm in formal one and i'm you know you're so enclosed in it like you said at the beginning but at the same time i don't think i ever get used to the like people there supporting me and I think like that's what makes it the coolest thing I'm sure all the sportsmen feel like it but I don't know what other way of life you get that kind of feeling of you know people cheering for you and supporting you

They make their effort to drive all the way down there because they want to shout your name. It's just crazy. It still blows my mind. Touch on something similar. Obviously, this year, Silverstone, you've got your own grandstand. How does that feel? That's nuts. That whole game is yours. Like, how does that feel? Home race. I just want to go and do like donuts in front of them. Shit at the end.

You don't want to be under me. No, I won't. I'll get a really big bollock. I'll get so told off. Yeah, you have no fuel to help, so well done. I think it's, I mean, a similar thing. It's crazy. I still find it crazy. Just think there's so many people that are there to support me. So I still feel like that normal guy. And then there's just all those thousands and thousands of people that are like there to support me. Yeah, it's crazy.

Yeah, the fans make, I mean, fans are the reason we're doing this. Fans are the people, they make our sport run. They are the reason for doing a lot of the things that we do in our life. shout out to all of the wonderful incredible fans and this is for them like this podcast this podcast is for them yeah so we can get into these and by the way this is not even our main

No, this is just the intro to the podcast. This is our warm-up. This is just a warm-up. This is nothing. This is before the green flag. This is before the lights have gone out. A little installation. Yeah, so you wait, guys. Yeah, so we look forward to obviously doing it.

that with you later in the year end of the year yeah that'll be pretty special and cool we have to let the guys say what they want to know more about because here I think we've answered quite a few and we went into quite a few different topics yeah

But more if they want to know more about different things, you know. And like more weird as well. End of the year. Yeah. Weirder the better. I think next time we don't even talk about Formula One. Yeah. What is Formula One? I've literally never heard of it. Yeah. All right, guys. Well, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thanks for being our first guest. Thanks for letting me be a guest. Good luck with the racing and stuff. Yeah. Good luck with the rest of the year.