McLaren’s Lando Norris paid tribute to his boyhood idol Valentino Rossi on Thursday and revealed they had exchanged text messages ahead of the Italian MotoGP great’s final race this weekend.
Norris, 21, wore a Rossi tribute helmet at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix and the two have kept in touch since they met at Silverstone that year. “He sent me a message last night, just because he is going into the final race of his career,” Norris said. “It’s sad times. I’m going to miss him. He was the guy I watched when I was four, five, six years old. He got me into racing, got me onto a motorbike first,” Norris added.