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Despite Zak Brown’s $98 Million Blockade, Lando Norris Is Not Without an Escape Route From the Sinking McLaren

Published Apr 1, 2023 | 1:15 PM EDT

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The extremely talented Stoffel Vandoorne came to F1 after pulling off a mammoth margin to become the GP2 champion. However, the man who was to soar high landed at McLaren and the underwhelming sting due to the worst spell of the Woking outfit ended the talented man’s career. And a few years later, McLaren recruited another prodigal son named Lando Norris. However, as a force of habit resulting from a trajectory of non-improvement, Norris is being suggested to find another motoring home to not see a repeat of the Vandoorne disaster.

A messy start to the year for the Papaya team probably has drawn on regrets for the Briton, who only last year signed an extension that may go on till 2025. While that keeps him tied down to the team, there is probably a way out of the orange cage Zak Brown has built to trap the talented driver. McLaren has only been all words and no result with 2023 beginning to look like their worst year already. And it won’t be long till the veteran at the papaya team starts looking for other avenues.

via Reuters

But how will that happen considering the contractual obligations? Probably how Alpine recruited Pierre Gasly. They bought his contract out. We wonder if Norris paid attention to Christian Horner’s talk of missing a British driver at Red Bull. As reported by inews, Horner believes it has caused a sentiment deficit amongst the fans of the sport who probably envied a British lineup of the rivals, Mercedes. If we consider two facts, first, Norris did talk with RB before signing an extension with McLaren, and second, Sergio Perez’s rumored sour relationship with Max Verstappen cannot be a long-term plan for Milton Keynes, both point towards a possibility of a move.

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From the man they might lose to the one they did, Daniel Ricciardo. Red Bull TP Christian Horner has highlighted a saddening observation.

McLaren did Daniel Ricciardo bad according to Red Bull TP Christian Horner

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McLaren has been struggling for ages now. Their last victory came at the hands of Daniel Ricciardo at Monza in 2021. And how did they go about it? They fired the very man who let them hold their head high for a bit. The ‘changed’ Ricciardo was a testament to the gloomy McLaren stint, which began before the ousting.

via Reuters

Christian Horner said, “It was clear when he came back that he’d picked up some habits that we didn’t recognise as Daniel that had left us two or three years earlier. We’ve had to feed him up–I don’t know what [McLaren] did to him, but he came back looking a bit skinny, but he’s looking healthier now. We’re certainly seeing him getting back to being far more reminiscent of the Daniel that we knew.”

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Do you think McLaren will lose Lando Norris sooner rather than later? Let us know in the comments below.

Written by:

Anmol

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Anmol is an F1 writer at Essentially Sports. She is a Law graduate from National Law University, Lucknow, and currently pursuing PGD in Journalism and Mass Communication from Symbiosis. Being a Rallyist herself she began watching F1, the apex of motorsports, and eventually fell in love with the sport.
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Edited by:

Akash Pandhare