With less than a month to go till pre-season testing, McLaren announced a contract extension for Lando Norris beyond 2025, putting an end to the speculations around the British driver’s future. As such, Norris no longer remains a threat to Daniel Ricciardo for the 2025 Red Bull seat, slightly easing his path for a famous potential comeback to the team he left in 2018.
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Proud to say I’m staying with @McLarenF1, let’s carry on what we started pic.twitter.com/Y5SRQva0g0
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) January 26, 2024
Because of Norris‘ impressive performances, especially in the latter half of the 2023 season, Red Bull showed great interest in bringing the Briton on board their team. However, as per a video clip uploaded on X by Daniel Valente, Norris was not in favor of joining Red Bull just yet.
“If you enter a team are you in a position to challenge someone straight away and are comfortable to do that? I think it’s a no for any driver. It takes time to adapt…and if you want to go against the best driver in the world it’s not the best thing to do. It’s not a smart move to do.”
With Sergio Perez failing to convince the Red Bull higher ups, it is more than likely that the Austrian team will look elsewhere to find a teammate for Max Verstappen. Ricciardo now stands as the primary figure for the job.
Under the current circumstances, Ricciardo is heading into one of the most crucial seasons of his career. His performances this year will ascertain his future. Should he do a good job of outpacing Tsunoda throughout the season and set a decent benchmark, it is more than likely that Red Bull will sign Ricciardo as a replacement for Sergio Perez.
With Lando Norris gone, the door is wide open for Daniel Ricciardo
About a year ago, Ricciardo faced a difficult phase in his F1 career, where he did not have a seat in the sport. And now, he stands as the most likely driver to take up the most coveted seat currently in F1. Talking about the same last year, Ricciardo mentioned that “crazy things can happen” if one stays focused and doesn’t lose their determination.
He added the stark turn of the nature of the conversation about his future made him smile. Even if the whole thing turned out to be a rumor, he didn’t believe he would ever be a part of such a rumor again.
Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t see the potential Red Bull drive rumour as pressure.
He will smile about it because a year ago, he didn’t think he would be even in the reckoning due to the McLaren stint:https://t.co/D80QcUBQrz #F1 | @MsportXtra pic.twitter.com/AKwtli1gtw
— Darshan Chokhani (@DarshanChokhani) January 22, 2024
After stepping into a driving role in (formerly) AlphaTauri and delivering impressive performances right away, Ricciardo became the talk of the town, and rumors emerged of him partnering up with Max Verstappen once again. Addressing the same, Christian Horner claimed that having Ricciardo back in Red Bull was great and that anything could happen in 2025.
While things look good for the 34-year-old, it will all ultimately come down to how well he performs against his teammate in the 2024 season. As such, Ricciardo needs to put in one of his best seasons to ensure Red Bull gives him the nod for 2025.
