"A lot of the comments are to do with my driving"- Lando Norris opens up about receiving death threats on social media in F1

McLaren driver Lando Norris recently addressed the death threats and abuse he receives on social media and the dark side of being in the public eye. He admitted that the majority of comments directed at him are with regards to his driving and the special treatment he is presumed to get simply because he is a British driver racing for a British team.

As reported by The Sun, the 22-year-old opened up about the criticism he faces on social media, saying:

“A lot of the comments are to do with my driving and accusations that different drivers get treated differently. Just because I’m British and driving in a British team, everyone thinks there’s always a bias for that. And then there are things I’ll say on the team’s radio where I always sound like I’m complaining, which I freaking hate. I’m just asking a normal question but because you’re breathing a bit quicker, it always comes across sounding like I’m complaining.”

“What I find the funniest in a way is people are actually spending their one life on Earth just sat behind a computer trying to ruin and bully someone. When people are creating fake pages and fake chats, and fake WhatsApp messages, then I am like, ‘You’re actually spending your life doing that?’. They’re wasting their life. Not enough gets done. I report the things I see but, there are so many, I don’t have time to go through them all. I want to race, travel the world and meet new people and create experiences and they are behind their computer, in their bedroom. I just find it hilarious that’s what they choose to do with their lives.”

Lando Norris has often been vocal about his struggles with mental health issues. He has used his platform as a highly influential sportsperson to promote awareness through charities like 'Mind', an organization supported by his team.

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"I want to protect her" - Lando Norris on the hate received by his girlfriend on social media

Lando Norris revealed that not only does he have to deal with social media hate towards himself, but also struggles with all the comments directed towards his girlfriend Luisinha Oliveira.

Revealing that there are "hate pages" dedicated to the Portuguese model on social media, he said:

“Whether it’s about my personal life, me and my girlfriend, especially the amount of hate pages dedicated to Luisinha now. It is pretty horrific. They are on Instagram and Twitter, they are the main ones. It is not an easy thing because if you come from such a different life to Formula One, it is the biggest contrast.”

“Having a normal life to all of a sudden having lots of followers, she has to be more careful of what she says and does. In racing, you go through it a bit more slowly and you learn to adapt to it. Between Formula Four to Formula Three and up to Formula Two. Formula One’s a big step but for her, she’d never watched a race before. And suddenly being in that limelight is extremely tough for someone to go through and the amount of comments she gets — and I want to protect her.”

The pair revealed their relationship at the beginning of the year through an Instagram post by Lando Norris from their trip to Dubai.