The 2023 Formula 1 season has gone like this for the Lando Norris camp: McLaren doesn’t live up to its expectations once again this season. Everyone feels Norris’ talent is being wasted. Even though he’s contracted to the Woking team until 2025, Red Bull shows interest in him. As enticing as that prospect is, McLaren gives him reasons to stay after a miraculous turnaround. Rumors still link him to Red Bull. But Norris assures he’s committed to McLaren. Even so, the rumors haven’t stopped. So what’s stopping Norris from jumping ship?

There’s no doubt Norris and Max Verstappen would make a formidable duo at Red Bull. The prospects of that happening have gone around so often that even they’ve talked about it. As enticing as that offer may be for Lando, turns out Lewis Hamilton & Co. could work in McLaren’s favor to keep the 23-year-old in Woking.

Mercedes’ role in keeping Lando Norris at McLaren

This season has been a story of two halves for McLaren—before and after its major upgrade overhaul in Austria. Before the upgrades, Norris was having arguably his worst season in F1 since joining McLaren in 2019. He was squabbling among the backmarkers, with the MCL60 no match for its usual rivals. After the upgrades, though, the Briton is arguably having the best season of his F1 career. The turnaround has become old news, but it hasn’t become any less monumental. Norris is already convinced that McLaren is on an upward trajectory, but that hasn’t stopped the Red Bull linking rumors. So, how does Mercedes play into this?

Lewis Hamilton & Co. has one of the best teams in terms of development. After starting the season on the back foot, their W14 had to be revamped midway through the first half. While they have been making gains to close the gap to Red Bull, none of their upgrades have been as drastic as McLaren’s. That’s exactly why endurance driver Richard Bradley suggested Norris stick to McLaren. Talking about the turnaround, Bradley said on the On Track GP podcast, “It’s remarkable, it’s actually incredible. There’s not really much of an explanation for it.”

There is one explanation, though. Even before the season started, McLaren knew the MCL60 would be nowhere. Unlike Mercedes, it accepted it’d have to change its concept entirely. Having wholly focused on the upgrades, McLaren ensured that when they were introduced, they’d be effective. That’s precisely what happened. Bradley added, “Since Silverstone (where both cars got the upgrades), McLaren has been in that gaggle. Probably second, third, or fourth-best car with Mercedes and Ferrari all at different times, Mercedes probably a bit further back.”

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Bradley obviously believes there’s more to come from the Papaya team. From the looks of it, Norris’ faith in McLaren has been restored as well, especially after his team boss’ recent comments.

Could Norris stay at McLaren post-2025?

Since Norris joined McLaren in 2019, the team has reassured him that they’ll give him a race-winning car. Five years into his tenure, it still hasn’t happened. But what the Woking-based outfit has done this season is proof that it’s going in the right direction. Since the Austrian GP, Norris had stood on the podium four times—most recently in Japan. Even though all four have been second-place finishes behind Verstappen, Lando’s Red Bull prospects still haven’t worked in Red Bull’s favor. The Japanese GP might’ve further ruined the Milton-Keynes team’s chances.

After the race, Norris said, “We’re on an upward trend. The progress we’ve made this season has been pretty incredible from my eyes. From where we were to finishing 19 seconds behind the lead is evidence of exactly that.” Team Principal Andrea Stella opened up about contract negotiations with Norris after the Japanese GP. He said, “We are certainly having conversations with Lando. These are positive conversations. We are happy with how these discussions are going. With Lando, we are trying to demonstrate as much as possible on the track what we say in words.”

Where do you think Lando Norris will be in 2026?

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