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.
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.
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