Lando Norris is one of the most talented drivers on the F1 grid and despite pleas from fans for him to jump ship from McLaren to a more competitive team, the Brit has stayed loyal to the team who gave him his F1 debut.
The 23-year-old has been repeatedly linked to Red Bull over the course of his F1 career but has been quick to show his faith in McLaren, who are in the middle of a long-term project which should see them return to winning ways within the next few seasons.
“I’m still here for a few more years. It’s because I want to be,” Norris told Sky Sports.
“It wasn’t because I knew we were going to be winning championships or anything.
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“I knew that it’s a journey and we have to develop and improve on what we have to get that point.”
Norris has also claimed that his is happy with the work McLaren have completed so far on their journey, but he may be reconsidering these claims now pre-season testing has been completed.
For the second season in a row, McLaren have arrived to Bahrain behind schedule, with team CEO Zak Brown admitting that the MCL60 is some way behind where the team hoped it would be.
The car has suffered with drag amongst other issues and on the final day of testing, Norris could only manage to go 11th fastest, while his rookie teammate Oscar Piastri finished in P16.
F1 presenter Will Buxton has revealed that he saw the usually positive Norris taking his frustration out after the final testing session, such is his annoyance at McLaren’s stuttering start.
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“I actually saw him leave the garage and walk to the little driver’s room on the side and, very unlike Lando, he sort of punched the flimsy, makeshift wall as he walked through,” said Buxton.
“It wasn’t going to knock the wall down but it was that little bit of frustration. You can tell it’s not quite right.”
With Sergio Perez’s Red Bull contract expiring at the end of 2024, many have suggested that Norris could move to replace the Mexican at the next of next season, should McLaren not have been adequate progress to become title challengers once again.