“RB takes Darwinism very seriously”– Lando Norris doesn’t think highly of Red Bull driver programme; Carlos Sainz revealed his story to him too

In his past interviews, Lando Norris revealed that he is glad that he didn’t end up at Red Bull’s driver’s programme when he was a child.

The Briton sensation Lando Norris had a successful career in several youth competitions that allowed him to graduate to F1 at the age of 19. Now, into the fourth year of his F1 career, Norris has cemented his spot in the sport.

Much of that credit goes to McLaren, who supported him from the right age and eventually gave him a chance in F1. Meanwhile, Norris never said that there were offers from Red Bull, but certainly, the Milton-Keynes based setup had eyes on him.

But Norris was never fond of the Red Bull driver’s programme. In the Beyond the Grid podcast, he mentioned that he was never keen on joining Red Bull’s programme.

“Being a free guy basically, not getting caught up in Red Bull,” said Norris. “Once you’re in, you’re on a tight leash with what you can do,” he added.

“I’m sure Carlos [Sainz] has told you about that,” guessed Tom Clarkson. “Yes, he has,” replies Norris. At that time, Norris was independent and had yet to associate with a team.

Norris thinks that was the best decision his manager could have made in hindsight. Though one cannot guess what would have happened had the Briton race driver had joined Red Bull academy, so far, his choices seem to be precise and have helped him immensely.

Also read: Red Bull’s Sergio Perez arrives to the Miami circuit way too early after a miscommunication with boss Christian Horner

Lando Norris – The future of McLaren

Since Carlos Sainz left McLaren for Ferrari, Daniel Ricciardo struggled with the Woking-based team. Norris has been promoted as the lead driver in the pecking order.

The 22-year-old race driver has put in some fantastic performances in 2021 and the first four races of the 2022 season. Last year’s exhibitions also earned him a new bumper contract with McLaren, which keeps him with the team till 2026.

I love this team @McLarenF1 pic.twitter.com/VlxW4lktWx

— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) April 25, 2022

So far, it seems that Norris has a bright future in F1. He is also considered to be the future world champion. It only remains to be seen how his career will take course ahead.

Also read: Alex Albon could visit Charles Leclerc’s mum to get his hair fixed

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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