McLaren F1 driver Norris keen to try rallying in the future

Norris made his F1 debut with McLaren in 2019 after rising through the single-seater ranks, but he sampled sportscar racing with an appearance at the Daytona 24 Hours in 2018 when he raced for the United Autosports LMP2 squad co-owned by his McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown . 

But Norris is now eager to give another motorsport discipline a go and try his hand in a rally car at some point in the future. 

It came after Norris launched a new apparel line for Quadrant, his gaming and racing brand, that had an off-road theme and included a shoot with a rally car. 

"I want to try some rallying at some point,” Norris told Autosport in an interview ahead of the summer break. 

“Our next collection with Quadrant clothing is a bit of an off-road vibe. So we recently went and did some stuff to record a piece for it that included rallying. 

“And I just realised going there for the first time and witnessing it, how crazy those people are. It made me really, really want to have a go. 

“I might start where there’s no trees, [at the] end of the year, I just want to have a go - in a safe place! With tyre barriers somewhere. 

“Like, car control and flicking it in and handbrake and timing and all of that stuff, it’s always good to do every now and then for like car control and to keep your wits about with more than just driving a Formula 1 car. 

“It’s like karting. A lot of Formula 1 drivers like to do karting, because it gets them back in the feeling of feeling things and it’s very feeling-related in karting. Same with rallying, I just want to go and try something new.” 

Norris would not be the first F1 driver to give rallying a go in recent years. Current Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas has appeared in the Arctic Rally on a couple of occasions, while 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen took part in a number of World Rally Championship events during his break from F1 in 2010 and 2011. 

Alfa Romeo reserve driver Robert Kubica also competed in rallying alongside his F1 career, suffering serious injuries to his right forearm in a 2011 crash, and won the 2013 WRC2 crown during his F1 hiatus.

Asked if he would consider a competitive rally in the future, Norris replied: “Maybe one day. 

“I’ll have to try it first, just to see what it’s like, just because it looks awesome. There’s always things in life people want to try and do. 

“That’s come across as something I would love to try at some point.”