Lando Norris lit up the 2023 British Grand Prix with his incredible P2 finish. He took on Max Verstappen in the opening stages of the race and held off Lewis Hamilton in the end. His performances even earned him a ‘Driver of the Day’ award. Now, after seeing the McLaren driver in such form with an improving MCL60, Norris’ father fires a shot at Verstappen, the defending world champion.
The McLaren duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri made things incredibly exciting at Silverstone. They weren’t quite good enough to challenge Verstappen’s might but were sure to give him a small scare at the beginning. Piastri narrowly missed out on the top three, but Norris stole the show with his second-place finish.
Speaking about how his race went, Norris revealed that his heart was beating at a higher-than normal rate. Racing at home in Silverstone, in front of a record attendance, certainly did a lot to help his confidence. Towards the end of that race, the British crowd roared its approval when another hometown hero in Hamilton started catching up to Norris. But in the end, he managed to hold off the seven-time world champion to take home his best finish of 2023 so far.
Now, after his incredible weekend at home, Norris is being linked with a move to Red Bull. The Austrian outfit is reportedly searching for a top driver who can match Verstappen as his teammate and they have their eyes set on securing the services of the 23-year-old.
Lando Norris’ father warns Max Verstappen
Lando Norris’ father Adam Norris recently opened up on his son’s rise to stardom in F1. According to him, Lando is showing tremendous amount of composure, for someone who is as young as him.
Speaking about this to the F1 Nation podcast, Norris Sr. said, “He is still my little boy. That’s the odd thing, we’ve grown up with him.”
After commenting on Norris’ growth, he went on to take a dig at Red Bull star Max Verstappen. The 51-year-old claims that his son has the potential to beat Verstappen, which is a huge take, considering the fact that the Dutchman has been nearly unstoppable this season.
“He really showed signs of promise when he was really young. He is always fast, he was ridiculously fast. So… I think he is the guy to beat Max [Verstappen]. I genuinely do,” he added.
At Silverstone, Norris took the lead of the race from Verstappen in the first lap, and managed to keep him at bay for a while. However, it was impossible for him to stay ahead of Verstappen for very long, because of the mighty RB19’s strong pace.
Will Norris replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull?
Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko was recently spotted chatting with Norris’ agent ahead of the British Grand Prix main race. As per The Telegraph UK, Marko was seen with Mark Berryman, who has been representing the McLaren driver since his karting days, at the Red Bull motorhome.
Apart from having junior driver-related discussions, it is believed there were also talks about having the 23-year-old at Milton-Keynes. These rumors started growing even stronger, especially after Perez’s woeful run continued last weekend.
Even though Charles Leclerc himself is linked to the Red Bull seat, Norris is reported to a favorite of Marko’s. According to GP fans, the 80-year-old is a huge fan of Norris’. He wants him at the team as early as 2025.
