Solberg offers rally car outing to McLaren F1 star Norris
World Rally Championship driver Oliver Solberg has offered Formula 1 driver Lando Norris an outing in a rally car after the McLaren driver revealed a desire to try the discipline.
Norris has carved a out a successful single seater racing career that has seen him climb through the UK national ranks before landing a seat at McLaren in 2019, and is currently seventh in the championship standings ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
While his career has been centred around circuit racing, Norris declared an interest in rallying in an Autosport interview last week.
The wish to drive a rally car was sparked from recently experiencing rallying from the sidelines during a shoot for the launch of a new apparel line for Quadrant, his gaming and racing brand, that had an off-road theme, which included filming with a rally car.
Following the publication of the story, Hyundai factory WRC driver Solberg, the son of 2003 world champion Petter Solberg, quickly took to social media to offer Norris an outing in one of several rally cars at his family home in Sweden.
Speaking to Autosport in the Ypres Rally Belgium service park last weekend, the 20-year-old said he was keen to follow through with his offer to Norris.
“If he wants to come to the farm in Sweden we have a lot of rally cars hanging around, if he wants to come a drive a bit, for sure,” said Solberg.
“I can send him message him Monday morning and ask him to come to drive a rally car.
“He is a super good driver and super talented, so I’m sure he will do great in a rally car as well, as long as I can have a go in his Formula 1 car as well,” he smiled.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
WRC squad M-Sport are also keen to accommodate Norris after the 22-year-old visited the team’s facility in Cumbria, UK to conduct his Quadrant shoot.
Team principal Richard Millener is also open to offering Norris an outing in a rally car in the future.
“I wasn’t at work the day that Lando came to visit sadly as it would have been lovely to meet him,” Millener told Autosport.
“A few of the guys that used to work for us and now work for McLaren have mentioned that he was really excited after that day.
“He wasn’t in a position to be able to drive a car at that point but I do believe he would love to have a go in a car and I think that would be great for the team.
“He seems like a really fun and approachable guy so you never now. It would always be nice to do these sort of things.”
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 WRC 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.
Jos Verstappen, a veteran of 106 F1 starts, made his WRC debut last weekend in Belgium driving a Rally2 specification Citroen C3, which he drove to 60th overall.
WRC Belgium: The Good, The Bad and a resilient Tanak
Accident damage rules Fourmaux out of WRC Acropolis Rally
De Vries cleared of wrongdoing in dispute over €250K loan
Nyck de Vries has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an Amsterdam court over a claim launched against him by real estate magnate Jeroen Schothorst relating to a €250,000 loan.
Horner admits Red Bull’s real RB19 will be ‘somewhat different’
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the real RB19 that will appear in Formula 1 testing in Bahrain later this month will be ‘somewhat different'.
Horner hints at closer links between Mercedes and Williams F1 teams
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has hinted that there could be a closer relationship between the Mercedes and Williams Formula 1 teams in the wake of James Vowles’s move.
Ford remains committed to WRC amid F1 return
Ford has stated that it remains committed to its programme in the World Rally Championship following confirmation of its return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier from 2026.
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
Some 39 years on from his Monte Carlo Rally debut, World Rally Championship legend Francois Delecour continues to pick up silverware. Proving that age is purely a number, the 60-year-old's desire to compete against the WRC’s latest young talents could be the start of a new chapter in the Frenchman’s storied career
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
He may only be contesting a part-time campaign in the World Rally Championship these days, but Sebastien Ogier underlined that he's lost none of his speed in the 2023 season opener. Storming to yet another victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time world champion rewrote the history books again as Toyota served notice of its intentions with a crushing 1-2
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Audi should have been invincible in the snowy conditions that typically greeted the World Rally Championship paddock in Monte Carlo. But unexpectedly warm weather for the 1983 season opener, combined with some left-field thinking from the Lancia crew turned the tables. Forty years on, team boss Cesare Fiorio reflects on a smash and grab
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
M-Sport had a disastrous 2022 with its Rally1 Ford Pumas following Sebastien Loeb’s first-time-out win on the Monte. But now things are looking up with 2019 world champion Ott Tanak leading its attack, and the Cumbrian operation has optimism that it can challenge for a first title since Sebastien Ogier's departure at the end of 2018
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
As Kalle Rovanpera begins his World Rally Championship title defence in Monte Carlo, the Finn knows he has a target on his back. But who is best placed to knock the Toyota ace off his perch?
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Question: what could be harder than becoming the youngest-ever World Rally champion? Answer: becoming the youngest-ever two-time World Rally champion. That's quite the challenge facing Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in 2022, particularly against rejuvenated opposition in the second year of the WRC's hybrid regulations
From F1 to WRC: Why Hyundai's new boss could be an inspired signing
OPINION: New Hyundai WRC team boss Cyril Abiteboul admits he’s got a lot to learn as he leads the marque's efforts to dethrone Toyota. But could his Formula 1 experience and evident strengths mean he turns out to be an inspired choice?
The ultimate rally car project the WRC is glad COVID killed
Toyota was unstoppable in the 2021 World Rally Championship, with an excellent 75% strike rate from 12 rallies. But in a scary proposition for its rivals, the Japanese marque had built a car for the final year of the previous regulations set which it believes was much faster and could feasibly have crushed the opposition completely. Here the story of its mothballed world-beater
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.