Zak Brown Issues Swift Diktat to Shoot Down Lando Norris’ Unification Dream With Max Verstappen

Red Bull finds themselves in a peculiar situation as things stand. Even though they have the best car on the grid, and arguably the best driver, they are seemingly not able to extract the maximum from their F1 package. With Sergio Perez inexplicably at more than an arm’s length to Max Verstappen and his supernatural talents, the Bulls need to reinforce that 2nd seat. As things stand, Perez is contracted to that seat for 2024. However, in the background, Lando Norris is getting ever so closer to usurping it as his rightful throne.

Norris himself has been very candid about entertaining a thought or two about ditching McLaren. And the best bet for where he’ll land is Red Bull. Even though the 23-year-old has been pretty coy about the specifics, given the trajectory the team has been taking and his relationship with the Dutch lion, on and off the track, he seems to be aligned with a move to MK7, too. But McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, has now reportedly thrown a spanner into the works.

Zak Brown spoils Norris’ Red Bull party

On paper, Norris is contracted with the Woking-based team until the end of 2025. However, as we all know it, it doesn’t take much to get yourself out of a contractual tangle, at least in the F1 paddock. But when quizzed if the sum total of both Norris and Red Bull potentially moving to get the Brit released from his McLaren contract would make him cave in, the American quickly shot that idea down.

Talking to Motorsport-Total.com, Brown said, “Lando [Norris] will be racing at McLaren through to 2025. Absolutely.”

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Zak Brown seems pretty adamant about Norris’ contractual situation. However, the 23-year-old British racing sensation himself is tantalized by the prospect of switching over to the Bulls.

Lando Norris opens the doors for Red Bull switch

As a team, the worst-case scenario for you is when your driver actually even entertains the thought of ditching you, now or in the future. For McLaren, things seem to have gone downhill in their pursuit to retain Norris as he publicly stated his intentions to very quickly transition into a Red Bull Racing driver alongside Max Verstappen.

A bevy of media quoted Norris as saying, “It’s definitely something I would be open to in the future. I think it’d be great to work alongside someone like [Max Verstappen] and, at the same time, see where I can really stand against him. I’d be open for it.”

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With Sergio Perez giving more reasons to give him the boot than to retain him, will Lando Norris make a sensational switch to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2024?