How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?

If a scriptwriter was ever tasked with distilling the Formula 1 career of Lando Norris into a conventional story arc, this year and last would surely dominate and drive Act Two. It feels that now is the point in the plot where the lead protagonist begins to acknowledge an internal conflict and must soon make some life-altering decisions. In the case of the Brit, the main issue that needs resolving is this: for how long should he remain at McLaren?

This is the team that gave Norris a promotion to the top flight for 2019 and has provided him with the platform and support required to refine his world-class talent ever since. So much so that he is now rightly considered among the championship elite. By way of a mutual show of faith and thanks, in the second of two quickfire extensions, Norris signed a new deal 11 months ago that will provisionally keep him at Woking until the end of 2025. But that expiry date will come round soon enough.

In the meantime, the Oscar Piastri contract saga plus Mattia Binotto being cornered into handing in his notice at Ferrari have served to greatly devalue paddock loyalty and supposedly binding paperwork. Therefore, if Norris is to stay put, it will be because McLaren is the best option available to him. But the case in favour of continuing in papaya has taken a couple of recent and sizeable blows.

The team took its first major misstep on the path back to the top with a troubled ground-effects challenger in the form of the MCL36. Fifth in the 2022 constructors’ championship, and a sole podium for Norris at Imola, was not good enough to feed his appetite for success. Norris might well sit among F1’s top drawer, but so far he’s been infrequently able to battle his pre-eminent peers on track. Adding to the dilemma, Andreas Seidl, the architect of the McLaren recovery plan, has now departed for Sauber.

These setbacks come at a time when it feels appropriate to re-evaluate Norris’s entire standing in F1. Wind back to late September 2021. He was a young hotshot, one attempting to brave it on slicks to deliver a wet-weather upset in Russia by beating Lewis Hamilton to snare a maiden victory. He was then aged 21, and it was a demonstration of his skill, determination and strategic rawness. Missing out on the triumph didn’t seem to matter. Time was on his side as McLaren – which had won the Italian GP last time out – pressed on with its resurgence.

Fifteen months and two birthdays later, it feels as though plenty has changed. In a world where 25-year-old Max Verstappen has two titles to his name, Norris is no longer the plucky junior who can afford to wait his turn. With McLaren choosing to jettison Daniel Ricciardo for 2023, like it or not, Norris isn’t the protege anymore. In terms of age and experience, he will be the squad’s elder statesman against rookie stablemate Piastri.

What’s more, Norris has watched pals Carlos Sainz and George Russell surpass him on the grid. They have made their defining switches to Ferrari and Mercedes and duly joined the winners’ circle. That’s one element that hasn’t come close to changing since Sochi 2021. Norris is still yet to trouble the top step of the podium. All told, he’d be forgiven for having itchy feet.

From pole, Norris was agonisingly close to winning at Sochi in 2021 - but sudden showers caught him out

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

“I wish I was there with them,” says Norris of his ex-McLaren team-mate Sainz and Russell, the driver who pipped him to the 2018 FIA F2 crown. “Of course, I wish I was in that battle. I feel like I deserve to be in that battle. It would be a great one. But it’s just not the position that I’m in at the minute.

“Fair play to George – he deserves it. He’s proven exactly what he’s capable of doing through the whole year. Not just the one race in Brazil. He was ahead of [Lewis] Hamilton, on average, all season. He’s doing a very good job. But that also gives me confidence that I can race against them in the future, and I can do the same as what they’re doing.”

The problem, of course, is that Norris can’t race against Russell, Sainz, Hamilton and co. That’s despite Mercedes enduring its worst campaign in a decade, and the frequent Ferrari blunders that blighted its 2022. McLaren has not been able to provide a grand prix machine that’s capable of fighting for first place, and the way that the squad has started the second ground-effects era hasn’t offered much in the way of confidence that it’s about to change.

"What Ferrari did, that’s achievable - going from where they were, from almost getting beat by us [in 2021], to where they are getting wins, fighting for podiums every single weekend – that’s what we need to be aiming for"Lando Norris

Regardless of how realistic it was for the regulatory overhaul to produce a more competitive field, McLaren let itself down. The MCL36 was unable to put in long runs in Bahrain testing because its brake ducts were too small. To avoid repeat fires, mileage was severely limited. That prevented Norris from fine-tuning a driving style that he’d had to massively alter.

Even though Ricciardo couldn’t run at Sakhir after returning a positive COVID test, he was the more settled in the car initially. It took at least a third of the season for Norris to be comfortable at the helm, and the rest of the term for him to chase anything close to perfection.

“I really struggled with a bit of everything, just general cornering,” reflects Norris. “The way you had to drive it is almost the complete opposite of the way I want to drive a car. I had to adapt and change my driving style a lot. Every corner is on such a knife-edge. It’s impossible to be on it every single lap in every single qualifying and in every race. I struggled to find the limit.

“I struggled to adapt to how you have to drive every corner separately. It’s never the same in every corner. But the job of a Formula 1 driver is to adapt to the car that you’re driving… If [the car was designed to suit him], they’ve done a terrible job of achieving that!”

McLaren arguably took a step back in 2022 - Norris wants the team to return to the front foot

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Modern McLaren doesn’t operate with a set number one and number two driver. Even so, it would do well to build a chassis that is better suited to Norris’s tastes in 2023. If he can be more comfortable, he will ultimately be faster. But that alone won’t placate the team’s talisman. Any upwardly mobile racer would quite happily adapt a driving style for as long as is necessary in return for an ultra-competitive car.

Norris is acutely aware that McLaren has lost ground with the regulation changes. He also fully appreciates that in a cost-cap era, his team cannot simply spend its way to success. Crucially, however, he sees no reason why over one winter – even during a period of stability – McLaren cannot take as big a stride forward as Ferrari made between 2021 and 2022.

Asked how much the James Key-led technical team can recover from one car to the next, Norris says: “What Ferrari did, that’s achievable. It was extremely good. Going from where they were, from almost getting beat by us [in 2021], to where they are getting wins, fighting for podiums every single weekend – that’s what we need to be aiming for. That level of a jump from one season to another.

“They’ve obviously maximised a new era, a new ruleset for F1 with new cars, which has allowed them to make a bigger jump than ever. It’s more than maybe you can make during a [rules cycle] of F1. But there’s still plenty of opportunities for us to achieve something like that. That’s where we need to be setting our goals.

“We have more chances now than ever to achieve something good and to be in that position. We have more people in place than ever before to achieve that, so we have more and more of what we need. It’s just about actually doing it.”

While Norris understands the landscape of F1 completely, it feels as though his immediate ambitions for McLaren might be a touch unrealistic. Bookies would quite happily welcome punters brave enough to bet on the MCL37 winning four GPs this year to match the record of the Ferrari F1-75 in 2022. So, what about the season after? Can Woking come up with a winner by the time Norris enters what will be the penultimate year of his contract? After all, the 2024 car is poised to be the first with major input from the team’s new windtunnel.

Delays brought about by the pandemic mean upgrades to the infrastructure and simulator –essential projects identified and lobbied for by Seidl – are 18 months behind schedule. That has left McLaren to make do with using the famed Toyota facility in Cologne.

Even when the new site comes online, as AlphaTauri learned with the underwhelming AT03 upon switching to the larger-scale Red Bull windtunnel for 2022, there’s no guarantee of an instant uptick; it can take time to fully exploit the new digs. As such, McLaren might not even hit its performance peak until 2025. That will test Norris’s patience considerably as he considers potentially another two seasons eating the dust of the top three teams.

Norris has seen former team-mate Sainz become a race winner in the past 12 months - will he be content to wait for McLaren to be competitive?

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Norris says: “I don’t even want to wait for [the new windtunnel]. The fact is the team have to make a better car. The job we did with the 2022 car was not good enough. I think that has been made very, very clear. So, I don’t think we need to wait. Already, in 2023, we need to make progress.

“I have faith that we can make good progress. We have a huge amount of what we need in the right areas and the right people and so on. It’s just that final hurdle, the final thing to get us up to the same level to then have no excuse against Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.

“They have better infrastructure than we have. I still have a bit of faith that [the new windtunnel] is going to help that last click, that last push. So, that’s always a small part, but it’s not the reason at the minute, and we need to do a better job with what we have. My contract is until the end of 2025, so I still have plenty of time. I can afford to wait, but I don’t want to wait. The team know that they need to do a better job.”

If McLaren doesn’t do a better job, the price it will pay is becoming increasingly predictable. Norris, as anyone in his position might, would be well within his rights to shop around. And even before his contract is up, there are several tantalising positions that could plausibly become available.

Norris is hot property and it’s difficult to imagine he will ever be short of suitors. If McLaren is to retain its prize asset then it must maximise its current potential to take a considerable step forward in 2023

Hamilton completed the 2022 season with the assertion that he would be sitting down with Mercedes management over the winter to forge a contract extension. At the time of writing, any new deal is yet to go public. Even when it does, F1 and the Three-Pointed Star must consider a future without its global superstar and seven-time world champion, who celebrated his 38th birthday this month.

Internally, Mercedes has all but ruled out ever making a play for the abrasive Verstappen. As it stands, that would surely leave Norris as the best option alongside Russell. Now that the former Williams racer has been given his promotion, there’s no obvious Toto Wolff-aligned protege waiting in the wings. Mercedes would have to dip into the transfer market.

As for what a switch could offer Norris, despite Mercedes’ worst campaign in a decade, a troubled W13 still proved more competitive than the MCL36. If Brackley’s powers of resurrection are as strong as indicated, it can provide Norris with a car capable of wins and even titles before McLaren’s new windtunnel is fully optimised. Given the deep pockets of Silver Arrows co-owners Wolff, Daimler and billionaire INEOS founder Jim Ratcliffe, shelling out to land Norris’s services before time wouldn’t present much of an obstacle.

Norris is signed up to McLaren until 2025, but Mercedes may have an eye on the Brit as Hamilton's successor

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

What if new Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur fails to eliminate the unreliability and strategic blunders that dogged its once oh-so-promising 2022 campaign? While there has been no indication so far that Charles Leclerc is looking elsewhere, at some point he might become so disenfranchised that he feels he must. The Monegasque is the other standout candidate to replace Hamilton at Mercedes. That, or a straight swap with McLaren, could potentially have Norris dressing up in red.

Still within the bounds of possibility, following the crazed 2022 driver-market silly season, would be a move to Red Bull. Amid an increased threat from Ferrari and an anticipated Mercedes comeback, repeats of the mid-season slump recently delivered by Sergio Perez will not always guarantee the team the constructors’ title. While the Mexican is signed up until the end of 2024, Red Bull has plenty of previous for prematurely ousting those who pale in comparison to Verstappen.

Also consider that the conveyor belt of talent that is the Red Bull Junior programme is currently enduring its lowest ebb in recent memory, and team boss Christian Horner has shot down the prospect of Daniel Ricciardo using his new third driver role as a springboard back to the first team. Therefore, an externally sourced top-level replacement for Perez will conceivably be required in the shorter to medium term. Norris would again be the prime contender.

It is also known that the two parties have previously held preliminary conversations. Horner addressed the matter late last year, saying: “We’ve talked to Lando a couple of times over the years, but every time we’ve had a conversation, he’s signed a contract with McLaren the next day.” While finding out about those chats with Horner was seen as a revelation at the time, Norris brushes it aside. He reckons keeping team bosses close is par for the course.

“The talks which I said I had with Red Bull are a general thing,” explains Norris. “Every driver is trying to talk to every team. Not always, though, and that’s why I signed such a long contract, so I don’t need to care about any of this for a while. But whenever you’re coming to the end of a contract, you always want to have talks with as many people as you can to weigh up your options and know what might be a better path for you.

“So, it wasn’t solely with Red Bull. It was different talks with different people about what could happen now and what could maybe happen in the future. Everyone has those talks. It’s a fact. But I signed a long contract because I didn’t want to think of those things.

“I knew that if there wasn’t anything out there which was tempting enough to go and do, especially for me and where I am in my career at the minute with my age, McLaren was by far the best option for me. I’m sure, in a few years, it will come up again when I’m coming to the end of my contract.”

Norris and Seidl formed a close working relationship at McLaren - now, Seidl has aligned himself with Sauber and Audi

Photo by: Erik Junius

And when the time does come for Norris to take stock and weigh up his options, should he remain at McLaren until the end of his current contract, there will be a new high-profile and well-paying gig well worth considering. Audi, or any major new manufacturer, will reasonably want to herald its proper F1 arrival with a statement signing. Since the single-seater ladder is conspicuously lacking a rising German talent who, come 2026, will be loudly banging on the door for a GP seat, the Ingolstadt giant may see a free-to-hire Norris as that worthy headline act.

While Audi has a mammoth task ahead to build up its nascent engine programme to be competitive from the off, the Sauber race team is already beginning to feel the benefit of the Volkswagen Group’s euros. Because the Swiss squad will finally have access to the resources required to spend up to the budget cap, there’s every reason to expect its chassis and aero to progress markedly. Therefore, Audi’s newcomer status might not necessarily entail Norris taking a step down the grid for a couple of years. An inevitable pay rise would only sweeten the deal.

If McLaren is to retain its prize asset then it must, as the driver says, maximise its current potential to take a considerable step forward in 2023

Then there’s the old flame with whom Norris would reunite should he jump ship: Seidl. McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown aside, it was Seidl who sold the papaya vision to Norris and convinced him to not allow those muted talks with Red Bull to progress into anything more serious. While replacement team principal Andrea Stella will continue the Woking rebuild programme in a similar image, the departure of Seidl is an inescapable blow to the team. His arrival as Sauber CEO only makes the Audi option more enticing.

Norris is hot property and, whenever his services become available, it’s difficult to imagine he will ever be short of suitors. As such, if McLaren is to retain its prize asset then it must, as the driver says, maximise its current potential to take a considerable step forward in 2023. After that, it must put its new windtunnel to good use in double quick time to become a frontrunner once again.

If the team falls short and Norris is still to trouble the top step of an F1 podium, there’s sound reason to expect the team and driver to part company rather than write a typical Hollywood happy ending.

Norris has stood on the two side steps on the podium - but he's aiming for the top step, with or without McLaren

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Orange leader, standing by

For firmly trumping Daniel Ricciardo during their two terms as stablemates, there’s a case to be made that Lando Norris has already been McLaren team leader for some time. In 2023, it’ll be even less open to debate. Although a number one role isn’t specified in his contract, for the first time in his F1 career Norris will be older and more experienced than the driver on the other side of the garage.

Ex-team principal Andreas Seidl pushed to recruit FIA Formula 2 and F3 champion Oscar Piastri, 21, because of his skill and for how well he is expected to integrate into life at Woking. As such, Norris doesn’t expect to have to radically change his approach to accommodate the newcomer.

He says of welcoming Piastri: “It’s new for me. I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve been the more experienced one. Literally, back to probably my first years in karting, I’ve never been the old guy. I look forward to it. There’ll be things I have to maybe do better and learn. Will I have to help Oscar a lot? How do I treat that situation? I know what he’s capable of achieving. So, for the most part, like 98% of it, I don’t think I need to change anything.”

Perhaps contrary to initial expectation, Norris reckons he might even find himself learning from the Australian, who boasts something he cannot. Norris has only driven contemporary McLaren F1 cars. Piastri, meanwhile, boasts relevant and recent experience of testing the 2021 Alpine.

“I’ll be the guy speaking with experience from McLaren, experience of Formula 1,” Norris continues. “That’s something he just can’t add to the table. I was the same when I joined, and it was with Carlos [Sainz, 2019]. He could add so many things that I wasn’t able to because it was my first year. There’ll be a lot of things Oscar is adding as well that I can’t add because he’s driven another car. I can’t physically offer that. So, it will be good for us.”

Piastri makes his long-awaited F1 debut with McLaren - but how will he stack up against Norris?

Photo by: McLaren