The world of F1 is very dynamic and even the hardest of evidence can sometimes change to give an opposing view. But specifically, in the case of Lando Norris, during his 4 years in F1, he has established himself as a potential world champion and there is no denying that fact. But McLaren‘s dreary performance at the beginning of 2023 exposed their faults and Red Bull decided to take advantage of it. And in an attempt to retain the Briton, Zak Brown probably did what he’s never done – humbled himself.

The tough time that the MCL60 gave to Norris must have been dreadful to deal with. Being reduced to frolicking around in the midfield is not what he signed up for. As soon as Red Bull saw that opening and the Woking outfit getting more vulnerable, they tried to poach Norris right under Brown’s nose. Norris’ agent supposedly also met with an RB chief secretly at the British GP. But just so that the British prodigy stays with them, the American CEO swallowed his pride to defend all the brutal criticism of the team that Norris dished out.

“No, we’re all motivated,” Brown told Motorsport.com. “We kind of get happy together. We get grumpy together. So, if he’s made a comment, it’s consistent, it’s motivating. We don’t get down, we fight hard. I mean, if you look at how poor start the season was, that was hard.”

He further justified Norris’ lashing out by saying, “Meanwhile, underneath the surface, we knew we were seeing great development in the wind tunnel. So it was like publicly taking a battering at the start of the year while knowing underneath things were actually going really well. And the team handled it really well, so we’re motivated.”

Read More: Max Verstappen Tipped to Crush Lando Norris’ Ambitions to Bits Despite Resurgent Run

Brown must have had an arduous time defending his driver’s negative comments. Nonetheless, now it is all good, as Norris seems to be satisfied with the efforts of the entire team.

Lando Norris is relieved as McLaren shows positive signs of recovery

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella needs to be lauded for the big changes that he’s brought in such a short period. Within a span of 10 race weekends, the Woking-based team has gone from being the 7th fastest team to 2nd. Due to this, Lando Norris has finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“I guess there’s always a bit of relief, just going from any difficult situation to having such a big change around,” said Norris. “Even if we took half the step we did take, I think we still would have seen that as a positive sign. But the step was even bigger than we were expecting. So, of course, it’s a relief, but not just for myself, I think for the whole team.”

Watch This Story: How Lando Norris Had a Chance to Go to Red Bull But Instead Chose McLaren

Thanks to the entire team’s efforts that brought about a massive change, Brown buttering up Norris could add to the positives. But how can long can they keep a potential world champion bound to the 2nd best car?