Shutting Down Transfer Speculations, Lando Norris Bets Again on McLaren’s F1 Optimism With Recent Changes: “A Bit of a Repetitive Game”

McLaren had to deal with a really difficult campaign launch all thanks to not achieving the development target. Rumors that McLaren’s wonder boy, Lando Norris, might leave the team permeated since the season began. During these difficult circumstances, as the misery level increases, the possible move of  Lando Norris to Red Bull or Mercedes has been talked about a lot. However, the Briton has finally put an end to the speculation after demonstrating his confidence in the team and believes the atmosphere is more upbeat than ever.

Every team used Baku as a baseline before developing their enhancements, especially McLaren, whose additional updates are currently being implemented. The weekend was proven to be a success right away thanks to McLaren’s updated flooring. The team’s pilots both made it to Q3, and Norris finished in ninth place in Azerbaijan after earning a solid P6 at Albert Park.

Lando Norris, however, did not have a simple way to get here since the team relied heavily on him as the senior driver when Daniel Ricciardo was ousted by the Woking-based team. But due to their reliability issues, the team was unable to give Norris a competitive vehicle and the rumor mill began. It all started since Hamilton’s contract extension is still up for renewal, and given the continuing drama at Red Bull and the fact that Perez’s deal is set to expire the next year, it was believed that the British driver might be interested in switching teams.

However, Norris now thinks that McLaren has sparked a resurgence of faith and the F1 team is on its way out of the challenging situation and he has reasons to back his thoughts. First is the ongoing MCL 60 upgrade, and the second is the reorganization of the team. The technical director of McLaren, James Key, has already departed the company, and several other senior personnel have followed him. This resulted in numerous new hires and, as a result of the combination of all these factors, “Everyone is a bit more free and willing to try new things.”

As per Speedcafe, Norris said, “Definitely everyone back at the factory seems happier, more optimistic. I know we’ve probably said that in the past at times, and it’s a bit of a repetitive game, but I have even more faith in terms of the ability, the new structure, and some of the new people we have. Everyone’s a bit more free and willing to try new things and take bigger steps and so on. So we have things coming, which are looking good, and definitely bigger steps than we had at the weekend.”

READ MORE: Lando Norris Bizarrely Expresses Disappointment Despite Taking Huge Strides in the Right Direction After Hitting Rock Bottom

There have been growing rumors about Lando changing teams since the start of this season. It was considered that Norris’s days at McLaren are numbered, given the circumstance in which McLaren was. However, fans of Norris, who believed he might leave the squad on his will, had all of their aspirations dashed by the team’s CEO Zak Brown’s stunning statement.

What was Zak Brown’s Stunning Statement that confirmed Lando Norris will stay at McLaren?

The CEO of the McLaren team, Zak Brown, put an end to Norris’ rumors of transferring teams at the beginning of this month. In the midst of the ongoing struggles that begin in Bahrain, rumors began to circulate that Norris was looking to leave the team.

The British driver signed a four-year extension contract with the squad in February of last year raised the question of whether Norris could switch teams at will. Even some former F1 drivers, like Jenson Button and Karun Chandhok, advised him to switch teams. However, Brown’s statement provided confirmation that Norris couldn’t leave the team even if he wanted to.

The CEO of McLaren told Skysports during their conversation, “He has zero exit clauses.” Understanding the fact that everybody is here to win Brown said, “Ultimately, when his contract is next up, if we are not performing and he doesn’t feel he can win races and can compete for the championship, then I think anybody, driver or team member for that matter [would be considering leaving], we are all here to win.”

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The ongoing struggles are a big deal to handle for someone like Norris who has always possessed a championship-winning talent. However, keeping that aside, do you think McLaren can provide him with a competitive car?