Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull Racing, has acknowledged that Red Bull is closely monitoring Lando Norris’s situation as McLaren negotiates a new contract that could extend beyond the 2025 Formula 1 season.
This revelation comes as Red Bull faces important decisions regarding its driver lineup for the 2025 season, with Sergio Perez’s performance coming under scrutiny.
Sergio Perez began the 2023 season on a promising note, securing two wins in the first four Grand Prix races.
However, his title aspirations took a downturn, and his struggles continued during the Japanese Grand Prix, where he retired twice.
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Despite these challenges, Max Verstappen’s victory, with Norris and Oscar Piastri from McLaren following closely, allowed Red Bull to clinch the constructors’ championship, with Verstappen leading the driver standings.
In the 2023 season, Max Verstappen has been the dominant force for Red Bull, contributing 400 of the team’s 623 points, while Perez trails far behind in the drivers’ championship.
Perez has only managed to secure a podium finish in four of the last eight Grand Prix races and has accumulated 97 points since the Canadian Grand Prix, compared to Verstappen’s impressive 205 points.
In contrast, Lando Norris has capitalised on McLaren’s major upgrade package, securing a fourth-place finish in Austria.
The 23-year-old British driver has since achieved four podium finishes, including second-place finishes in Britain, Hungary, Singapore, and Japan.
Norris has amassed 103 points over the past eight Grand Prix races, underlining his consistency and strong performances.
Perez’s struggles, particularly in qualifying, have raised doubts about his future with Red Bull.
Currently contracted with the team until the end of 2024, Perez faces stiff competition within Red Bull from drivers like Daniel Ricciardo, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda.
These factors have left his future uncertain within the team.
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, confirmed that the team is exploring various driver options, including Lando Norris.
Horner expressed his admiration for Norris, describing him as a “great driver” with substantial talent and personality.
He also acknowledged the challenging prospect of being Max Verstappen’s teammate and the varying responses of drivers to that challenge.
Horner stated, “But, of course, as well as the drivers we have in-house, we keep an eye on all the driver market.
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“As you can imagine, there’s quite a bit of interest from certain sectors about driving a Red Bull car.”
Notably, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko previously expressed the possibility of Norris partnering with Verstappen.
However, any potential move involving Norris would require Red Bull to present McLaren with an enticing offer to release the British driver from their current, formidable driver lineup that includes Piastri.