Red Bull have taken a cheeky shot at Lando Norris and McLaren following the British team’s recent announcement, that they are now sponsored by Monster Energy.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Monster Energy had signed a “multi-year” deal to become partner with McLaren, ending their 14-year relationship with Mercedes.
As a result, Mercedes will no longer have Monster Energy’s logo in their car or race suits; however, Lewis Hamilton is expected to continue being personally sponsored by the energy drink company.
Given that Red Bull and Monster Energy are fierce rivals in the energy drink world, the Milton Keynes-based team couldn’t help but mock Norris, after the 23-year-old was spotted drinking a can of Red Bull.
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On the same day as McLaren’s deal with Monster Energy being announced, Red Bull posted a video of Norris drinking a can of their drink onto Instagram.
“DW @landonorris, we’ll always have your back in your moment of need #givesyouwings,” Red Bull captioned the post on Instagram.
Norris was even seen with the Red Bull logo on him during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix track parade last weekend, after he was pranked by Max Verstappen.
Verstappen stuck a Red Bull logo onto Norris’ back, whilst greeting his friend.
The McLaren driver is clearly a fan of a can of Red Bull, but he’ll need to switch his preference to Monster Energy.
In Monster Energy’s announcement of their deal with McLaren, the company’s chairman and co-CEO, Rodney Sacks, started by thanking Mercedes for their “wonderful” partnership.
Sacks went onto express his excitement at the energy drink company’s “new chapter” with McLaren.
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“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Mercedes Formula 1 team, and [motorsport boss] Toto Wolff in particular, for a partnership that has spanned well over a decade and seen us celebrate some wonderful success together,” said Sacks.
“We wish the team well for their upcoming championship campaigns. Monster Energy is proud to start this new chapter in its F1 journey with McLaren Racing.
“Monster is focused on enhancing fan experiences and partnering with a world-class team and its elite drivers to share our passion with F1’s global audience. We are planning some really exciting programs with Lando and Oscar and are excited to go racing together from 2024.”