Lando Norris addresses speculation about a potential move to the Mercedes
As McLaren's struggles in Formula 1 continue, there have been rumors suggesting that Lando Norris is looking for a move away - to Mercedes.
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Mercedes' George Russell (L) and McLaren's Lando Norris (R)
Lando Norris is a hot property in F1 and several teams have got their keen eyes on him. The rumors of him having a long-term future at Mercedes have been making the rounds recently, but the young Brit has put all those rumors to bed with his recent comments. He has indicated that he is very happy at the Woking-based McLaren F1 team.
Lando Norris has got a contract at McLaren until 2025 and when he was asked to talk about the potential of having a future seat on the Brackley-based F1 team, he told Channel 4, “Am I? Interesting. No, I’m here, I’m happy where I am.” The 23-year-old with his comments has made it crystal clear that he does not see himself as a racing driver for the Mercedes team in the future years of the sport.
Moreover, as things stand, there are still two more years left (the current deal runs till 2025) on Norris’s current deal with the McLaren F1 team. It is further believed that his current deal with the papaya-colored outfit does not have a release clause in it. So as far as the upcoming years of the sport are concerned, McLaren has got its future secured by having a prolific driver like Lando Norris on its books.
He is seen as one of the best drivers on the current grid by many people up and down the paddock and there are solid reasons to back the claim. Even when the papaya-colored team brought on board the experienced Daniel Ricciardo, he was able to hold his own against the Australian and was comfortably able to beat him on a daily basis, this speaks volumes about the caliber of Norris as a racing driver.
Can Lando Norris be seen racing for the Red Bull F1 team?
Lando Norris since making his F1 debut, has cemented himself as a prolific racing driver in F1 and there are not many others that are considered better than him. While the Briton has recently shut down all the rumors of him having a future seat at Mercedes, there are rumors who have linked him to Red Bull. He has negotiated with the Milton-Keynes team before, but as Christian Horner described it – every time they’ve had discussions, Norris has signed a new contract.
Sergio Perez’s current deal with Red Bull comes to an end at the conclusion at the end of 2024, but at that time Lando would still have a year left on his McLaren deal. But F1 is an unpredictable sport and anything is possible if one tries hard enough. Moreover, seeing Norris partner Max Verstappen, who considers the Briton his best friend, would be a sight to behold. Recently, speaking on Ziggo Sport’s ‘Race Cafe’ podcast, Jack Plooij suggested that Perez could be replaced by Norris if the Mexican driver keeps ‘whining and squealing’.
However, all these are just predictions, and nothing more. By the time the end of the 2024 season of F1 comes around, who knows who would be where on Red Bull’s list of drivers? One can also not rule out the possibility of Red Bull continuing with Perez until 2025 so that when Norris becomes available they are there to snatch him away from McLaren.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)