Watch: Lando Norris tries out his Idol Valentino Rossi's team VR46's Ducati GP25 on his visit to the San Marino GP paddock

F1 star Lando Norris was spotted getting on and learning about a MotoGP bike in the paddock alongside VR46 Racing Team's Fabio Di Giannantonio. The Briton is visiting the paddock this weekend at the San Marino Grand Prix and paid a visit to his idol Valentino Rossi's team.

While F1 has taken a week-long break between the recently concluded Italian Grand Prix and the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren's Lando Norris has chosen to remain close to the world of motor racing this weekend as well.

The 25-year-old was first spotted in the MotoGP paddock in Imola this weekend on Friday (Sept 12), alongside Aprilia Racing's Jorge Martin. Now, Norris has paid a visit to VR46 Racing's garage on Saturday, as he learns about the technicalities of the Moto GP bike from Fabio Di Giannantonio himself.

Norris could be heard questioning Di Giannantonio about his vehicle and understanding the nuances of his Ducati machine. A video of this moment was shared by MotoGP's official Instagram account on Saturday.

"Jumping on Diggia's bike and discovering all the secrets of a #MotoGP bike 👀"

Di Giannantonio has qualified in seventh for the San Marino GP, riding for legendary motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi's team. Marco Bezzecchi took the pole position for the race on Sunday.

Lando Norris had an eventful race in Italy just a week ago as well, as the McLaren driver finished second behind Max Verstappen at the Italian GP. But all the headlines were about his team asking Oscar Piastri to let him through, after the Aussie driver had undercut Norris thanks to a slow pitstop for the latter.

This meant that Norris finished the race in second while Piastri secured third. This caused a three-point swing in Norris' favour in the drivers' championship standings, in which the two McLaren drivers are the main protagonists this year.

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Lando Norris claims he is treading with caution after losing out to Max Verstappen at the Italian GP

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen after the Italian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Lando Norris claimed that he had to be a lot more cautious than Max Verstappen while discussing the Dutchman's overtake on him at the Italian GP. The driver explained that he is not in a position to take huge risks due to his championship battle with Oscar Piastri.

Speaking to the media after the race at Monza, Norris explained what went through his head when Verstappen was overtaking him around the outside of turn 1.

"The main part I said was nerve-rackingly close was when he overtook me into Turn 1 on the outside, on lap two or three, whatever it was. That's the one where it's like, who wants to brake the latest? But I knew being on the inside that Max is in a much stronger position than I am," said Norris. [via RacingNews365] "He can afford to be a lot more on the edge and aggressive than I can. I can't afford to lose a front wing or have a little bit of damage, whatever it might be," he added.

Norris now heads into the final eight rounds of the 2025 season with a 31-point deficit to his teammate. This gap was compounded mainly due to his DNF at the Dutch GP, in a race where Piastri claimed the victory.

Edited by pranavsethii