Norris keen to reassure family following Hubert tragedy
British teenager Lando Norris has told his family not to worry about him – despite revealing his father was sick in the wake of Anthoine Hubert’s death last weekend.
The sport has gathered in Monza, the fastest track on the calendar, still recovering from Hubert’s death following his 160mph crash at Spa-Francorchamps.
The tragedy is being investigated by the FIA. The car belonging to Giuliano Alesi, the driver who Hubert dodged before crashing into the barriers, has since been impounded by Belgian police.
Norris’ businessman father, Adam, funded his son’s career, and attends most of his races. Norris, 19, is competing in his rookie season for British team McLaren.
“My dad told me he had to go to the toilet and be sick,” said Norris reflecting on last weekend’s tragedy.
“My mum is always worried but it threw my dad’s mind quite a bit. He comes to all the races and he sees what happens. He knows the speed we go.
“Usually, he can’t watch my onboard footage. He has to go somewhere and hide, so when it gets to a worse situation, he really can’t take it.
“I have to tell him that I will be OK, but it feels bad. It is what I want to say. I am sure every driver does and then we have what happened last weekend. I am more nervous about reassuring him now.
“It is still in my head, and it will be when I get in the car tomorrow. That is when it will come back to me.”
Earlier, Sebastian Vettel said he would rather Formula One be boring if it could bring back Hubert.
Hubert, 22, became the first driver to die during a Formula One race weekend since Ayrton Senna was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
But Ferrari’s Vettel, a senior member of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, insists the sport must continue to improve safety.
“Some people think Formula One is too safe and too boring, but I would rather have boring Formula One championships forever and bring Anthoine back,” said Vettel ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
“The accident shows there are things we can do better and things we must improve and must work on. What happened couldn’t be any worse.
“I am a fan of holding races at Spa because it is a great track with a great history, but we must take a closer look and examine the incident in a very detailed way.”
American driver Juan Manuel Correa, who tore through Hubert’s car, was this week transferred from Liege to a hospital in London. He broke both his legs and suffered spinal cord damage in last Saturday’s crash.
Lewis Hamilton holds a 65-point lead over Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas heading into the final round of the European season. The home fans will be expecting Ferrari to build on their strong performance in Spa where Charles Leclerc registered his maiden grand prix win.
