Lando Norris 'not comfortable' at McLaren as rumors swirl over F1 future
Lando Norris completed his fifth season in Formula 1 but despite achieving a career-high seven podiums and six second-placed finishes the Brit isn't comfortable
McLaren's boss, Andrea Stella, has confessed that Lando Norris, who is linked with Ferrari and Red Bull, is "not comfortable" with the team. Despite a successful season with seven podiums and six second-place finishes, the 24-year-old Brit hasn't yet clinched a win.
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Stella admitted to F1's website: "This is not a comfortable place. We can try and cope. But it's not comfortable for Lando and it's not comfortable for us. I'd rather start from accepting this and work the best way to making this possible, rather than almost pretend that it doesn't make any difference."
He added: "We are here to win races. I don't want a driver who doesn't have this strong drive. If this makes him uncomfortable and makes us uncomfortable, we accept it. It's going to be extra determination to create the conditions to win races."
Norris is hopeful of a win and believes McLaren is now better equipped to challenge the top teams. "We're in a much better position that we can focus on some of the finer details, but details which we've not really been able to improve much at all over the last five years," Norris said about McLaren, who haven't clinched first place since 2021.
"Things that I would love to have more of as a driver, and I think suit me more as a driver, so trying to work on those things. Now we're more capable than everyone trying to focus on them and improve them. That will help with qualifying, help with race pace, and small things can make a big difference. If we can work on that, then I'm confident we can have a very good car next year."
Even without his first victory, Norris is seen as one of F1's rising stars. Both Red Bull and Ferrari have considered Norris this season as a potential replacement for Sergio Perez or Sainz for the 2025 season.
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Three-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen and Norris were childhood friends from their karting days. The Dutchman would love to team up with Norris in the future, as would McLaren's main man.
Norris said: "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 Formula 1. I never raced against him until I was in Formula 1 but I was always in the category below. In karting, I already knew him reasonably well."
- An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
