08 March 2023 , 17:56
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Karun Chandhok picked out two Formula 1 teams who he believes Lando Norris will be looking at if he decides McLaren cannot match his ambitions.
Things are already looking a little grim for the Woking outfit. After emerging as the midfield team most likely to challenge the top three in recent years, 2022 saw their progress stall somewhat and they were beaten to fourth place by their Alpine rivals.
Zak Brown admitted that the team had missed its development targets on its new MCL60 car for this season. But even taking that into account, the car looked wanting for pace in pre-season testing, while the first race weekend of the year probably couldn't have gone much worse.
Highly-rated rookie Oscar Piastri became the first driver of the 2023 season to retire after suffering an electronics failure. Norris managed to complete most of the race, but spent it at the very back of the field thanks to a total of six pit stops – necessary for the team to manage a pneumatic problem.
The new contract he signed last year has Norris tied down until the end of 2025. But it's difficult to see the ambitious young Brit wilfully hanging around if the team cannot fulfil its pledge to be mixing it with the top teams within the next couple of years.
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Chandhok feels the Bahrain race alone might be the trigger for Norris to start considering what other option he might have. He told the Sky F1 podcast : "I tell you who will be thinking about a move to Ferrari or Red Bull though, is young Lando Norris.
Karun Chandhok thinks Norris will be looking elsewhere (Sky Sports)"Looking at where [McLaren] are at – and we were talking before the season of McLaren locking him in and Zak doing an amazing job of contracting him in for that four-year period – I do wonder. And if they're smart, they would have created some sort of exit clauses.
"For example, if McLaren don't finish in the top four of the constructors' championship two years in a row, is there an option for Lando to look elsewhere?
"Outside of the traditional top three teams, you've got Fernando [Alonso] and Lando who are your top two drivers on the grid, aren't they? And the fact [Norris] is fighting to even get a car into Q3, there's got to be a bit of frustration there I would imagine."