Lando Norris said former US president Donald Trump called himself his “lucky charm” after ticking off his first win on Sunday.
Norris took his first win in Formula 1 in style after rising from sixth to first in the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, capitalizing on a Safety Car to pit at the right time before easing away from Max Verstappen in the second half of the race.
Lando Norris: Donald Trump called himself ‘lucky charm’ after maiden F1 win
Norris admitted to his relief after earning his first victory in Formula 1 at the 110th attempt on Sunday, and his 16th time stepping on the podium was his first on the top step.
But the McLaren garage had a high-profile visitor when the former president was ushered into their surroundings before the race, with McLaren chosen to represent Formula 1 for his visit to the Miami paddock.
Trump is standing to regain the presidency this year but is also currently in court battling 34 criminal charges in New York, all of which he denies.
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When asked after the race about how he felt about Trump’s presence in the McLaren garage, Norris responded to reporters in Miami: “I didn’t see him in the garage to be honest, I was busy prepping for the race.
“But he saw me after and he came up to congratulate me, so I guess an honor, because whenever you have someone like this, it has to be an honor for you – for them to come up to you, to take time out of their lives to pay their respect for what you’ve done.
“He said he was my lucky charm because it was my win, so I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now. But yeah, there’s a lot of special people, cool people that have been here this weekend.
“Donald is someone that you’ve got to have a lot of respect for, in many ways, and for anyone like that who acknowledges what you can go out and do, and acknowledges the work ethic that goes into things, you’ve got to be thankful for that, and I was.
“So, yeah. Cool moment, and that’s all.”
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