'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Lando Norris met with his childhood hero Valentino Rossi in Italy, in the lead-up to the 2025 Emilia Romagna GP. As F1 is in Italy for the first Italian race of the season, Norris got to meet Rossi, the legendary icon of MotoGP.
Norris has repeatedly mentioned Rossi as his role model during interviews and public appearances. As he arrived at Imola to race in Rossi's backyard, he did not miss the chance to meet the Yamaha legend.
McLaren, from their official Instagram account, shared a series of pictures of Norris and Rossi from Imola. Uploading the pictures, they wrote,
"Two icons."
Here's the picture by McLaren on Instagram involving Norris and Rossi:
Trending
Notably, Norris arrived in Italy to race in the 2025 Imola GP. The Briton has been going through a rough patch compared to his teammate Oscar Piastri's charge. However, at Imola, he had the last laugh.
On Saturday, he qualified in P4, behind pole sitter Piastri, Max Verstappen, and George Russell. But on Sunday, he improved two places and came home in P2, against Piastri's P3.
Verstappen claimed the Emilia Romagna GP victory as the Dutchman overpowered both McLarens. With this, the Red Bull driver claimed his second win of the season and trimmed his gap in the world championship standings.
When Lando Norris spoke about Valentino Rossi's impact on his life
Back in 2021, Lando Norris opened up about how Valentino Rossi impacted his life, especially his childhood through racing. The McLaren driver stated that it was Rossi who helped him grow an interest in racing, especially on motorbikes.
When Rossi decided to retire from MotoGP, it was a sad affair for Norris. Here's what the McLaren driver stated about it:
"It’s sad times. I’m going to miss him. I still try and watch as many MotoGP races as I can,” Norris was quoted as saying by motorsport.com. “He was the guy I watched when I was what, four, five, six years old, got me into racing, got me onto a motorbike first."
“So yeah, he’s been the guy that I looked up to, the guy whose kind of helped me get to this position where I am, because probably without watching him, my ambition of being a racing driver probably wouldn’t have been so high," he further added.
Valentino Rossi, who is also known by the nickname "The Doctor", is widely regarded as the greatest MotoGP driver of all time. He has seven Championships in the premier MotoGP class, 89 wins, 55 poles, and 199 podiums to his name in 372 race starts in over two decades of racing.
