McLaren fighting Lando Norris interest from three F1 rivals as admission made
"If we would have continued on the path that we were on at the start of the year, I wouldn't have wanted to drive here."
That was the joke cracked by McLaren chief executive Zak Brown as he looked back on a truly wretched start to the 2023 season for his team. I could quite easily be a Lando Norris quote, too.
It seems like a distant memory now, given the progress they made throughout the campaign. McLaren ended the year as arguably the closest team to champions Red Bull in terms of race pace. And that went some way to masking the fact they began it with one of the slowest cars on track.
It was a less-than-ideal way for Norris to start his fifth season with the team. He has more than 100 Formula 1 races under his belt now and, famously, has yet to win one - but he remains highly regarded in the paddock and considered one of the strongest talents on the grid.
Norris has a contract until the end of the 2025 season. While that gives McLaren some level of security regarding his future, it is not really much of a stumbling block for other teams that might want him. After all, the top teams are hardly short of cash - McLaren can name their price, and most of those interested in the Brit could probably match it.
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The real security that the team has right now is the 24-year-old's personal desire not only to win races and become world champion but to do it with McLaren - the team he loves. Sentiment is not a factor that can be an understatement. Conversely, it is also not something the Woking squad can rely on.
As much as he wants to achieve his goals with McLaren, Norris is too ambitious to give up his title aspirations in the name of loyalty alone. If the team cannot show consistent progress towards the front of the grid, he will eventually realise that he's probably going to have to look elsewhere.
McLaren Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown looks on (Getty Images)That's why it was so important that McLaren made the progress they did this year. If they ended it as far off the pace as they began, it's hard to imagine any other outcome than Norris and his entourage working the phones to see which of the top teams could make him the best offer.
And there is no shortage of interest. The obvious destination would be Red Bull, given they have tried at least twice before to pry the young Brit from McLaren's grasp, and they are actively assessing their options with the under-fire Sergio Perez out of contract next winter.
But they are hardly the only ones keeping a very close eye on Norris' situation. The truth is, he would be top of the list for pretty much every team if they were faced with a situation where one of their current drivers needed replacing. That's true for Mercedes, who have Lewis Hamilton for two more years but, given he's now almost 40, will be planning for his successor.
It has not gone unnoticed that Hamilton's new deal ends at the same time as Norris' current contract. And it seems Ferrari are hoping to put themselves in a similar situation.
Charles Leclerc is expected to land a new long-term deal. But the suggestion is that Carlos Sainz will only get a shorter extension with the Italian team keen to keep one of their seats free in case Norris were to come into play. The Brit is a more active target for Ferrari than he is for Mercedes, who aren't yet searching too hard for a Hamilton replacement.
As Brown admitted to The Race about Norris: "He's a driver that everybody up and down pitlane wants. How much longer is Lewis going? What's Mercedes going to do? How much longer is Sergio going? For sure, I think the three other big teams probably don't have visibility as to their driver line-up beyond '25. And I think with how Lando’s performed, he would be top of everyone's list."
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