McLaren driver Lando Norris has hit as out at some of his fans, describing them as “very creepy” for trying to uncover private information about his friends and other people he interacts with.
The 22-year-old made his Formula 1 debut in 2019 and he quickly became one of the most popular drivers on the grid.
However, there are some pitfalls of being so popular and famous, as Norris pointed out in a recent interview.
Speaking to ESPN, the McLaren driver revealed that some of his friends’ privacy has been invaded by fans, simply because the have been spotted together outside or because he follows them on social media.
“I think the one bad thing is just personal life with friends, people who through no fault of their own get put into the spotlight sometimes because of being seen with me, or me following them on social media or something,” said Norris.
“I think that’s been the worst side of it – someone who is just quiet on their own and they are seen with me at dinner or on a post on Instagram. There’s still a lot of nasty fans, a lot of fans which are just not nice and just use a lot of people and things like that.
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“I’d say the worst thing about the popularity is those kind of people. The people who don’t respect your personal life at all and the people you hang with and so on. That’s definitely the worst bit of it,” he added.
Asked if there are some fans who try to track down his friends and uncover their private information, Norris replied: “There are. It’s very, very weird.
“Honestly, it’s very creepy what some people do. The time they spend trying to investigate things or people or whatever.
“I just laugh and find it very funny, but it’s very weird. It’s just odd.”
He added that he has a big problem with his friends and other people photographed with him getting hate online:
“It’s disrespectful, I feel, to someone who through no fault of their own, I guess because they are my friend or something, gets abuse on social media because someone doesn’t like the top they wear and it’s because they are friends with me…crap like that.
“That’s the only thing I really hate about being in the position I’m in now,” Norris concluded.
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