Norris open to future IndyCar, NASCAR outings

Lando Norris admits he is open to the possibility of taking part in some IndyCar or NASCAR events in the future.

The 20-year-old made his Formula 1 debut last season with McLaren, scoring 11 top-ten finishes on his way to 11th place in the drivers' championship.

During his time spent in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, Norris has raced different categories on iRacing including IndyCar and Australian Supercars.

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The Briton's junior career on the route to F1 consisted of junior formulae outings, however he did divert his attention to the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2018, partnering up with Fernando Alonso.

Although he affirms his priorities are currently firmly focused on F1, Norris says he is open to any other racing opportunities that could come his way.

“I love F1 and that's where my heart is at and it's everything that I'm working on. That has priority over everything that I do,” he told Sky F1 on Instagram Live.

“But if I ever get the opportunity to go and do IndyCar or NASCAR or GT's, every challenge I've had to go to do something like that, I've enjoyed it and loved doing it.

“It's busy, especially with F1 nowadays and how many races we have a year. Post-season, there's not a lot of time we get to do other things. I enjoy driving everything else but F1 is my goal and my priority.”

Norris 'would love' Bathurst 1000 entry

Earlier this week, McLaren CEO Zak Brown showed support for a potential Bathurst 1000 entry featuring Norris and his 2021 teammate Daniel Ricciardo. 

Norris admits he would love to try the race having driven the Supercar on iRacing, while also wishing to experience the challenge of Mount Panorama. 

“I would love to [race at Bathurst]. I've been driving that car a few times now, never in real life, but on the simulator. And it's very different to F1, it's like the complete opposite,” Norris said.

“Actually I would say NASCAR is the complete opposite of F1, but it's [Supercar] quite a beast. It's heavy, very little aerodynamics. You have to drive it in a very different way to a Formula 1 car.

“So it's super fun to drive at the same time. Bathurst is one of the tracks that everyone would love to drive at one point in their career, and I've never driven there before. 

“Especially with Danny Ric, it would be pretty cool. But even whoever it's with, it doesn't have to be Danny, it can be any driver. Even Zak maybe! I would love to do it at one point, but it depends on how it fits into the schedule and what opportunities there are to be able to do it.”