Lando Norris given ‘good reason’ to snub Red Bull despite Max Verstappen link

Max Verstappen sent offer to quit Red Bull and join F1 rival keen to be his team-mate

Lando Norris has been urged to keep the faith in McLaren instead of pursuing a move to Red Bull when his contract expires at the end of 2025. The Brit has been widely tipped as a candidate to partner Max Verstappen at some point down the line, with Sergio Perez’s long-term future at the team still very uncertain.

Norris has firmly established himself as one of the best young drivers on the grid and is currently enjoying a rich vein of form, having achieved four podium finishes in his last seven races. The 23-year-old is known to have spoken to Red Bull in the past, with his impressive recent showings leading to renewed speculation that a future move could be on the cards.

He is also close friends with Verstappen, who lives near Norris in Monaco and grew up racing alongside his McLaren rival in karting. However, endurance racer Richard Bradley believes the British driver should not be looking to switch teams just yet, given the huge steps taken by McLaren in recent months.

“It’s remarkable, it’s actually incredible,” Bradley told the On Track GP podcast. “There’s not really much of an explanation for it, it’s a very, very big jump.

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“Obviously, there’ll be explanations in the design rooms and they will have found something out, but it gives you a lot of confidence. At the start of the year, everyone was saying: ‘Oh, Lando’s got to start thinking about other options because McLaren are so bad’.

“Well, you have to say, since really Silverstone onwards, McLaren has been in that gaggle. Probably second, third, or fourth-best car with Mercedes and Ferrari all at different times, Mercedes probably a bit further back.

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“But, you know, now there’s a good reason to stay there. If they can keep working on that philosophy and exploit a bit more from it, then it could be interesting going into next year.”

Norris, who has picked up more points without taking a Grand Prix victory than any other driver, would almost certainly have added some wins to his name by now if he was in the same Red Bull as Verstappen. However, there are still over two years left for McLaren to convince him that his future lies with them before the time comes to make a decision on where to go next.

He recently admitted that he would be open to teaming up with Verstappen at some point, though, telling the F1 website: “It’s definitely something I would be open to in the future. I think I can happily say Max is probably one of the best drivers ever in the history of F1.”

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