Lando Norris: His future in Formula One

Lando Norris is a respectable driver in Formula One today. He has great talent that we can all agree on, hasn’t had its fullest moment in the spotlight. He has shown us just some of what he is capable of, but as the years with McLaren get on, and with no real development towards a championship contenting car, it appears Norris’ future is in a mix.

Lando started at McLaren in early 2017, at just 16 years old. He quickly moved up into Formula One for the 2019 season, partnering rookie teammate Carlos Sainz. He developed and adapted rapidly to the likes of Formula One and made a name for himself as a fast driver, and possibly a future world champion.

His pace hasn’t left him, if not then gained over the course of his F1 career but struggles with McLaren leave him and others unsure if Lando is the driver to bring the success to the English-Kiwi papaya team.

Lando had a rough start toe the season, but since the major upgrades implemented on the car for Austria, Great Britian, and Hungary, McLaren had increased in pace drastically, making both their drivers a force to be reconned with. Lando and Oscar both agree that this may be a temporary thing, they do not expect it to last for seasons to come, and expect to be back to the mediocre team they were before, but both drivers stated they will be “optimistic” and “useful” of the pace they have now, in hope to gain them large amounts of points to help them in the standings.

For Lando’s future, it is currently a bit mixed. He is staying firmly planted in the seat of the McLaren rocket ship that they have recently made and is likely going to stay that way until 2025 when his contract runs out. There have been speculations to suggest that Lewis Hamilton may make a return to McLaren for the tail end of his career, which would leave a very large, and vacant seat in the Silver Arrows that could have Lando’s name written all over it.

Lando said that he has talked to RedBull about a future seat when Sergio’s contract runs out, but Lando would have to fight ex-teammate Daniel Ricciardo for that spot. He has also had talks to Ferrari when Sainz’ contract runs out, but he said, “I would rather stay with McLaren than have my first therapy session.” A brutal comment from the Brit.

Lando is said to be an easy man to get along with, and very approachable, so with the good friendships he has with drivers in other teams, it is possible that Norris’ possible team change could be made a little easier with the help of rival drivers and friends like Sainz, Russell, Leclerc and Verstappen. But for now, it is up to the papaya team to keep hold of Norris and his contract.

Now, McLaren being one of the wealthiest teams in Formula One, they can afford the pricier upgrades and decisions to their F1 team. But unlike RedBull or Alpha Tauri or even HAAS, McLaren have other areas that require their money outside of F1. They have top quality production cars to make, GT race cars to make as well as a competitive IndyCar team and Rally team to focus on.

McLaren have always been a competitive team in motorsport. They have over 50 years in experience in Formula One, more than enough for them to know and understand the ins and outs of this great sport we all love and watch.

Sources and references

-       Formula 1 (2019). Formula 1. [online] Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. Available at: https://www.formula1.com/en.html [Accessed 16 Aug. 2023].

-       Kisby, C. (2023). 2024 F1 driver line-ups: latest news and rumours for next season. [online] Motor Sport Magazine. Available at: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/2023-f1-driver-line-ups-latest-news-and-rumours-for-next-season-2/ [Accessed 16 Aug. 2023].

-       www.autosport.com. (2023). Norris: McLaren must match Ferrari’s F1 ground-effects gains for 2023. [online] Available at: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/norris-mclaren-must-match-ferraris-ground-effects-gains-for-2023/10423434/ [Accessed 16 Aug. 2023].