Lando Norris just broke the cardinal rule of WhatsApp group chats. He lifted the lid on what goes on inside one.
The McLaren Formula 1 superstar spilt on the group chat that contains the current crop of drivers on the paddock.
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The group was first brought to the attention of the Formula 1 world when Mercedes’ George Russell brought it up during a podcast appearance.
Russell, an admin of the chat, said things can get a “bit out of control” following race weekends, but majority of the time it can be quiet.
“There is a WhatsApp group,” he told the Fast and the Curious podcast. “I mean it’s not like we’re sending banter in there day after day but there are occasions where something may have happened on track and suddenly people are sending memes in and whatever and it gets a bit out of control.”
Norris however went a step further and revealed what really takes places in the 20-man group chat and the rather peculiar group photo the chat has.
“James Hunt as the group photo,” Norris also told the Fast and the Curious podcast with a laugh.
“It’s true [the group exists]. It’s not so much like ‘hey, we’re all mates’. It’s a lot more for talking about things that can help us as drivers in terms of rules, regulations, it’s more like how can we represent ourselves?
“I don’t know how much [George] revealed, he’s like the head of it.”
As the discussion however dragged on further, Norris whipped out his phone and began to scroll through the messages and revealed Russell didn’t get a single message about his recent birthday.
“It’s a little bit of everyone,” the McLaren driver said. “We are all kind of chatting and working together to come up with different ideas. We’ve got Esteban [Ocon], we got Zhou [Guanyu], we’ve got Alex [Albon]. Everyone chats in it [but] I can’t find any memes.”
Russell doesn’t mess about with his admin powers, mercifully booting former Haas driver Nikita Mazepin on the same day his sacking was confirmed.
Norris and new Australian teammate Oscar Piastri struggled during the opening race of the weekend, with Piastri retiring due to mechanical issues and Norris finishing last of the 17 drivers to complete the race.
Piastri, the hottest young property in motorsport flopped on Grand Prix debut, starting 18th and not getting to complete a pit stop in anger as he told his engineer he “lost the gearbox.”
McLaren admitted they were “not entirely happy” with the state of the car that was revealed at launch, and are hoping for improvements through upgrades over the course of the season.
Now, the specific regulation change that has ruined Piastri’s season can be revealed, and it’s likely to be the fault of their engine supplier, Mercedes.
“Where this (the major issue) happened actually is when we took the 15mm floor step,” said McLaren’s technical director, James Key.
Norris said the McLaren’s direction had to be clearer in order to be able to compete.
“I think it’s a mixture of two things,” he said.
“One is the general balance, and two is overall downforce.
“What we’re having in Baku (the fourth round of the championship) should be what we’re starting the season with.
“If you want to be a top team, it’s where we should’ve started the season with those kinds of parts which are coming.”