McLaren and Zak Brown surely did not regret after they brought in Oscar Piastri as the replacement for Daniel Ricciardo. The young Australian driver impressed the fans as well as the critics right in his rookie year. So much so that he was given the title of Rookie of the Year by the FIA twice in his lifetime. Now, according to Scott Mitchell-Malm, brilliant Piastri could be the reason for Lando Norris’ departure from McLaren.
Speaking about this, Mitchell-Malm questioned in The Race podcast, “Will Norris want to stay at McLaren” after the brilliance of Piastri put into the table against that of Norris. Notably, Norris was the better driver statistically this season as he finished in P6 in the Drivers’ Championship with 205 points.
One I will never forget https://t.co/zMy3OyuoyK
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) December 10, 2023
Compared to him, Piastri finished in P9 with 97 points, less than half of what the Briton claimed in 2023. However, there are reasons why Norris performed better than Piastri this year and the primary reason is believed to be how the 24-year-old got the preference of the team. The preference was in terms of upgrades for being the senior driver in the team, and hence, so far there have been no intra-team tussles.
As Piastri is regarded as an irritant who could see Norris leave the team due to the former’s scintillating performances, there were already talks about the Briton leaving the team. However, McLaren saved themselves this season by bringing impressive upgrades amid heavy interest in Norris from Red Bull.
Norris and his transfer saga to Red Bull
Lando Norris has been a long-time McLaren faithful now. However, there were multiple rumors about him switching to Red Bull off late. This was primarily because the driver who was about to be in his prime was in a team struggling to be the powerhouse they once were.
On the other hand, Christian Horner’s team has been absolutely smashing things out of the park by claiming 21 wins out of 22 races. Therefore, any driver would want to drive a Red Bull car and Norris was no different. However, things changed after Zak Brown’s team managed to keep him by promising incredible upgrades to fight up front.
Big thanks everyone ❤️ pic.twitter.com/lhwh4NFTUz
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) December 4, 2023
Notably, Max Verstappen often talks about retiring from the sport early and this could open up a place for Norris to switch sides and join the Austrian team. Furthermore, the 24-year-old is also rated highly by the Milton-Keynes-based team and its team principal Horner.
Nevertheless, there are still points to be noted. If Red Bull fails to keep their winning momentum going post-2026 regulations, McLaren becomes the top team yet again and Verstappen does not retire, Lando Norris is expected to remain at McLaren no matter what Piastri brings to the table.
