“Battling Mediocre Teams”: Zak Brown & McLaren Given a Major Wake Up Call Amid Lando Norris’ Longing for F1 Glory

McLaren caught the fury of the fans after the early contract termination of Daniel Ricciardo. This nasty treatment of the beloved Australian has not come with consequences. We are not talking only about the financial consequences. There might be a pitch of karma also coming McLaren’s way in the near future. This is at least the belief of F1 journalist Martin Brundle in regard to Lando Norris.

First, the British former racer dwelled on Norris’ loyalty toward the Papaya team since the start of his F1 journey. However, the abysmal start to the 2022 season, followed by 2023, has but a huge question mark on his continued loyalty. This is exactly what Brundle pressed upon during a discussion on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, as quoted by Motorsport.

“Lando is amazing and always says ‘This is my team, I’ve been here for years and I love this team,'” said Brundle. “But in a scenario where McLaren is battling mediocre teams, enthusiasm inevitably begins to wane.”

“He’s been racing with the team for a long time even though he’s still young. In short, McLaren has to get good results in the next 18 months – otherwise, Norris will look at other options I’m sure,” he added.

Read More: Lando Norris Exposes McLaren’s “Shocking” List of Shortcomings While Issuing a Thunderous Message to the Team

In fact, despite downplaying his rumors about a move to Red Bull, cracks have started to appear in his outlook toward the team.

Lando Norris put in a helpless position because of the Mercedes disaster class

The Brit has managed to score points in only two of the five races so far in the season. Among the two, the Baku result can be perceived as a positive one. However, upon closer inspection, the Brit was left helpless during the race in Baku because of the sluggish state of the MCL60. He revealed that in an interview with the aforementioned source.

He said, “I tried my best to keep up with the cars in front of me, but it made me push the tires a lot because we are not on the same level as them. If you look at our lap times, the steps we took probably didn’t help us much here.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Will Lando Norris Switch Teams From the Miserable McLaren – What are his Options?

This open confession of the team’s mediocrity gives us reason to believe an early and ugly exit. Although, will Zak Brown let go of his star pupil without a fight, even if it’s against him? We don’t think so! However, apart from conjecture, only time can reveal the truth, so stay patient and stay tuned!