“There have been talks with Red Bull”, Lando Norris said in 2022, before signing a contract extension with McLaren. Soon after, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner admitted that they had “spoken to Lando a couple of times over the years”. Horner even jokingly claimed that every time they conversed, the next day Norris would sign a contract extension with McLaren. However, two years after that, F1 TV commentator Alex Jacques has now sparked rumors of the 24-year-old’s RB move again.

Red Bull has an open seat for 2025 with Sergio Perez‘s future yet to be confirmed. And Norris’ blistering pace to finish P2 at the Chinese GP has left everybody floored. Later, when the podium finishers graced the cooldown room, Norris was seen conversing with Helmut Marko and Christian Horner.

This led to commentator Alex Jacques’ Spidey senses tingling. He claimed that “Helmut Marko has been trying to sign Lando Norris since 2018“. Though Norris has already committed to McLaren with a multi-year contract, Red Bull could attract him with the right amount. Moreover, they have the fastest car on the grid and the Briton has already declared that he isn’t scared of going up against Max Verstappen.

This poaching situation, however, seems less likely to happen, considering McLaren’s building bond. Team Principal Andrea Stella is creating a coherent team back in Woking. Norris too expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Woking outfit after his Shanghai podium.

Lando Norris proud of McLaren after “pleasant surprise” at the Chinese GP

Coming into Shanghai, Stella was only expecting his drivers to do “damage limitation”. This meant that even a Top 5 was a far-fetched target, let alone a podium finish. But Lando Norris proved everyone wrong with a P2 finish, just behind  Max Verstappen. In today’s era, according to many, that is as good as a win.

And it seems even the British-Belgian driver himself was left awestruck, too. “I was surprised by many things, the lack of pace from Ferrari today, our good pace, and I guess more. Us compared to the Red Bull, which was so surprising,” he said post-race, before adding, “I just wasn’t expecting that today at all.”

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The 24-year-old further acknowledged that a P2 finish was indeed a “pleasant surprise” as he hadn’t even expected a podium finish in the first place. The driver also lauded his team for his hard work. “I got everything ready to go home early and not be on the podium, so it’s a pleasant surprise. But it shows the team have done a good job. We’re working hard and it’s paying off.”

Surprisingly, Norris revealed that he had bet against McLaren, expecting them to finish 35 seconds behind Ferrari. But he performed so well that Stella said post-race that they might have to revise their expectations going forward.

Does this mean another heartbreak for Christian Horner? Well, we’ll have to wait to find out!