Lando Norris tipped to look for alternatives if his ‘chin drops’ amidst McLaren’s struggles

Martin Brundle reckons that Lando Norris can decide to switch teams if McLaren fails to improve.

Lando Norris tipped to look for alternatives if his ‘chin drops’ amidst McLaren’s struggles

Lando Norris

Lando Norris is reckoned by many as a future F1 world champion. Despite McLaren‘s lack of progress, he is committed to the team. The 23-year-old wants to stay with the British team for the long term. However, F1 commentator Martin Brundle believes Lando could look for opportunities elsewhere.

Brundle was convinced that even though Norris is adamant about staying at Woking, the Briton will not be happy if McLaren fail to give him a good car. He said, “Lando is incredible, he’s like ‘this is my team, I’m here for a good number of years now and I support them’, but in the end his chin is going to drop if they’re midfielders at best.”

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Moreover, the F1 presenter reckoned that Lando Norris might indeed look for better options in such a scenario even with a valid contract. He explained, “Lando will be looking around. He’s got to be looking around but he’s nailed on with the contract and the contract recognition board

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Previously, the Briton had been in talks with Red Bull and even Mercedes for a potential seat. Additionally, rumors cite that Norris might be the pick for Audi’s F1 entry in 2026. This is because of the boss Andreas Seidl, as the duo shared a great relationship during his time in McLaren.

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Martin Brundle says McLaren are “feeling the pressure”

McLaren. Image via Twitter.
McLaren got off to a poor start in the 2023 F1 season. Image via Twitter.

Ever since Andrea Stella was appointed as the team principal, McLaren have been undergoing fundamental changes. Brundle stated, “They are restructuring now with Andrea Stella and some other people coming into the team.” McLaren are eagerly waiting to utilize their wind tunnel this season. Martin added, “They’ve got a new wind tunnel coming. They are hanging an awful lot on that feeding into the team very quickly in the next year or two.”

Brundle mentioned that McLaren CEO Zak Brown would be under scrutiny to perform well. The Woking team will try to make its way up the pecking order despite recent struggles. He concluded, “McLaren in general, and Zak in particular, will be feeling the pressure… It’s a difficult business and we’ll see what these changes do for them.”

Thus, Martin Brundle is adamant that Lando Norris will not stay at McLaren if the British team cannot show progress to its star driver. The 25-year-old is highly valued in the F1 driver market and will not find trouble finding a new seat elsewhere. Subsequently, Zak Brown and his team must find their way if they want to keep Norris.

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