Lando Norris has been loyal to McLaren for a long time now, having made his debut for the papaya outfit back in 2019. Even when the team was struggling, Norris stood strongly by their side. However, not everyone seems to be impressed with Norris’ loyalty to McLaren. Valentin Khorounzhiy, for example, came up to criticize the star driver’s decision.
Khorounzhiy, during The Race F1 Podcast, spoke about how Norris is one of F1’s biggest talents at the moment. According to him, Norris deserves to be in a race-winning car and it certainly wasn’t wise of him to stay back at the Woking-based team and not hunt for glory.
Life’s good when wearing a papaya bucket hat. 😆 pic.twitter.com/cyZKMqqUvY
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 6, 2023
Khorounzhiy believes that even though Norris would likely be a second driver at Red Bull, he should have taken up the opportunity. He feels that a deputy’s role in the fastest car would have been worth it all.
Second Red Bull better than First McLaren believes F1 expert
Valentin Khorounzhiy, during the podcast, stated that Sergio Perez’s current seat at Red Bull is better than what Norris has at McLaren. While this might sound astonishing, speed-wise, the Woking car is quite inferior.
Talking about this, he said, “I think being in the second Red Bull is better than being in the first McLaren. And I think it will be this way for quite a long time despite McLaren’s gains.”
P2!!! Another podium. Papaya is back 🍊 pic.twitter.com/lwRf065Srt
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) July 23, 2023
Despite the RB-19 and Red Bull’s dominance, Norris decided to stick with McLaren though he admitted to thinking about leaving earlier his year. Admittedly, there is a strong reason behind the 23-year-old deciding to trust McLaren’s project.
Lando Norris believes in McLaren’s project
Following a slump in 2017, McLaren devised a plan to sort out their long time F1 future. Once the most dominant team in F1, they finished their 2017 F1 season in P9. Thereon, they had to deal with a lot of repercussions, which took a huge financial toll on the team.
According to Zak Brown, Norris believed in the McLaren project and it was the reason why the Briton stayed back in the team. After years of struggle, they are finally showing signs of resurgence. This is an opportunity Norris is happy to grab with both hands, as he looks to win races for McLaren in the months to come.
Additionally, plenty of top teams, especially Red Bull, have kept an eye out for Norris. As the Austrian team are in search of a strong second driver alongside Max Verstappen, Norris joining them could give them just what they need.
