McLaren are convinced they can give Lando Norris a ‘race-winning car’


McLaren are convinced they can give Lando Norris a ‘race-winning car’

Lando Norris (L) and McLaren CEO Zak Brown (R)

At just 23 years of age, Lando Norris is already considered to be one of the best drivers on the grid. It was through his heroics this year that McLaren even had a chance to fight against Alpine for P4 at all. He finished comfortably ‘best of the rest’ in P7, 30 points ahead of the next closest man, Esteban Ocon, and 85 ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Safe to say, he’s a star, and in the group of the potential future world champions on the grid.

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And he’ll presumably be staying a long time at McLaren – fans will hope he can help break the team’s run of ducks (they have not won a constructors’ championship since 1998). He has a contract till the end of 2025, so unless that is paid out by an interested party and McLaren allow him to leave the team, he’ll be staying with them till just before the new regulations of 2026.

Red Bull are definitely interested in him, though as Christian Horner has earlier remarked, he’s signed a new contract at his team ‘a day’ after both of their discussions. Another team that may try to acquire his services in the future is Audi, who have Norris’ former team principal, Andreas Seidl, at the helm as CEO. However, McLaren CEO Zak Brown thinks that the team have enough in the bag to keep the Briton with them.

However, obviously, the team, and the package, must meet his expectations. If not now, then in the near future. As per Motorsport.com, when asked if he was worried that Norris would leave McLaren if their car doesn’t step up from the midfield, Brown said: “No, because I’m convinced we’re going to give him a winning car. We have a long-term contract with him. I think he feels very comfortable within the team.”

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Zak Brown: It’d be ‘early’ to be worry about Lando Norris leaving

Zak Brown at a press conference during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (IMAGO / PanoramiC)
Zak Brown at a press conference during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (IMAGO / PanoramiC)

McLaren is a very big name in Formula 1, and one of the most iconic racing brands in the world. While they’re not as ubiquitous to F1 as someone like Ferrari, they are probably the second-most well-known Formula 1 team in the world. And successful too – they have won 8 constructor titles, tied with Mercedes for the third most of all time. But since 1998, they haven’t won a Constructors’ championship, and much like Ferrari, since 2008, they haven’t won any trophies at all.

So, not only is there pressure on them to deliver for Lando Norris, but also for themselves, and their fans. In any case, Zak Brown thinks it’s ‘early’ to be worried about Norris leaving: “Other than obviously the pressure we put on ourselves, because we don’t want to just give him a winning car, we want to give us a winning car. So, I think we’ve got a runway to get there. He knows the journey we’re on. He has bought into the journey that we’re on, and I think it’d be early to be worried about it.”

It would definitely be great to see Norris in a ‘competitive’ car. He’s one of the best drivers on the grid, and it’ll be interesting to see what he can do with it – can if he can bring McLaren back to the top again.

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Also Read: “We can’t be satisfied with where we have been this season,” Lando Norris states as McLaren took a step back in performance in 2022