Ex-Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle has warned McLaren to “deliver” a better car or face losing Lando Norris, who’s been advised to start “scouting around” should the Woking-based team’s performances fail to improve.
It’s been a challenging start to the 2023 F1 season for McLaren, with the side having struggled in every aspect.
Qualifying and race pace has been an issue for the side, who experienced a double Q1 elimination last weekend at the Miami Grand Prix.
Norris qualified 16th whilst Oscar Piastri could only manage 19th, with Sunday’s race having gone no better.
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Piastri finished where he started whilst Norris actually dropped a place to P17, marking a miserable weekend at the Miami International Autodrome.
It’s certainly not where Norris expects to be racing, with the Briton having proved over recent years that he has the capability to be a consistent points finisher and occasional podium visitor.
As things stand this season, though, McLaren aren’t in a place where either are possible, with ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok asking as a result whether the 23-year-old should “be on the phone to Ferrari”.
“Martin, do you think he should be on the phone to Ferrari, for example?” Chandhok asked Martin Brundle on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.
“You know, Carlos isn’t having a great run. At what point do you start to get twitchy if you were Lando, do you think?”
“I mean, get the crystal ball out,” Brundle replied.
“I had a lovely interview with Fernando [Alonso] at the weekend and, I don’t think it made the cut that particular piece, but you know, we all try to see the crystal ball and who’s going to have the downforce and power and grip and get their teams together.
“But yeah, Lando will be looking around. He’s got to be looking around, but he’s nailed on with the contracts and the [FIA] Contract Recognition Board. So he’s got a while there and he’s got time as a young man, but McLaren will have to deliver up for him in the next 18 months or he’ll be scouting around hard.”
Even if Norris were to hold conversations with Ferrari, the Briton is currently contracted to McLaren until the end of 2025, a contract which McLaren CEO Zak Brown has stressed he can’t get out of.
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“He has zero exit clauses,” Brown stated, as reported by the Express.co.uk.
“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.
“He has got a contract with us and, most importantly, he is very happy here and he sees the progress that we are making, and he is a team player.”