Ex-Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok believes Lando Norris might be “thinking about” switching to either Red Bull or Ferrari, with McLaren currently looking nowhere near to challenging the frontrunners.
The season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix was miserable for Norris and the Woking-based side, with the 23-year-old having been forced to pit six times, following a pneumatic leak.
To no surprise, he was the last of the running drivers, with his rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri having retired early in the race following another technical fault.
There is absolutely no doubt, McLaren have work to do in order to challenge for fourth in the constructors’ championship, with the top six alone currently looking like a tall order.
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With Aston Martin, Alpine and Alfa Romeo having improved, McLaren are currently looking at a potential duel with Alfa Romeo for sixth.
This is clearly not where Norris will want to be, given that he has the talent and the track-record to suggest that he has the ability to challenge for victories.
Should he wish to move, it could be a tricky situation, with him currently being in the middle of a long-term contract.
Norris’ current deal doesn’t expire until the end of 2025, with Chandhok wondering if Norris perhaps has any exit clauses in the contract.
He’s attracted plenty of interest from Red Bull in the past and has been mentioned as a potential Ferrari target, should Charles Leclerc decide to move.
With all of this in mind, Chandhok believes Norris will be looking at a possible move to either Milton Keynes or Maranello, with the Indian believing that the Brit is potentially getting frustrated at Woking.
“I tell you who will be thinking about a move to Ferrari or Red Bull though, is young Lando Norris,” Chandhok told Sky Sports F1.
“Looking at where they’re [McLaren] at, and we were talking before the season of McLaren locking him in and [McLaren CEO] Zak [Brown] doing an amazing job of contracting him [Norris] in for that four-year period.
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“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?
“Because outside of the traditional top three teams, you’ve got Fernando [Alonso] and Lando who are your top two drivers on the grid, aren’t they? And the fact he [Norris] is fighting to even get a car into Q3, there’s got to be a bit of frustration there I would imagine.”