Two Teams Expected to Be Lando Norris’ Lifeboat to Get Away From McLaren’s Sinking Ship

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once a contender for both championships and one of the most successful teams ever in the history of Formula 1, McLaren has fallen from the sky without any parachute attached. The once-improving team, which finished as high as fourth in 2021, is returning to its Honda era from the last decade after its drivers failed to remotely compete in Bahrain, potentially causing it to lose its star driver, Lando Norris.

Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok made the prediction, or rather the speculation, during a podcast after the team started poorly this season as well. He suggested that due to McLaren’s lackluster performance, the young Briton, also believed to be a potential world champion, might soon be exploring his options. The two teams that might avail themselves of his services are Red Bull and Mercedes.

Karun Chandhok, as quoted by Sky Sports, said, “I tell you who will be thinking about a move to Ferrari or Red Bull though, is young Lando Norris. Looking at where they’re [McLaren] at, and we were talking before the season of McLaren locking him in and Zak [Brown] doing an amazing job of contracting him [Norris] in for that four-year period.”

“I do wonder, and if they’re smart they would have created some sort of exit clauses. For example, McLaren don’t finish in the top four of the Constructors’ Championship two years in a row, is there an option for Lando to look elsewhere?” he added.

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This isn’t the first time that Lando’s exit rumors have been talked about. Previously, Peter Windsor, a former high-level Ferrari official, too, talked about Norris making a move, but according to him, it would be Ferrari seeking the young driver.

McLaren and Lando Norris review their agreement

Lando was handed a long-term contract with the team last year. However, the perception around the exit of either of the parties varied as two different statements came out of the Wyoming camp.

In an attempt to send a message across the paddock, former team principal, Andreas Seidl, as quoted by Planet F1, said, “The beauty of this new agreement that we have in place is that there’s no get-outs, on both sides, which is [an] important message that we wanted to give to the team as well.”

But Lando’s accounts over the contract differed as he presented himself as an option to the leaders of the grid, saying, “Of course there’s things here and there like there is in every single person’s contract, but, in terms of my commitment, it is very high.”

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Nevertheless, all of the speculations won’t move until someone vacates a seat. Tasked with this important movement is Lewis Hamilton, who, according to many, might just retire in the near future.