Lando Norris, a British driver for McLaren, has issued a challenge to the current McLaren engineers. He wants them to demonstrate that the team can achieve victory in Formula 1 without relying on the expertise of renowned designer Adrian Newey. Newey, who has spent almost two decades with Red Bull, will be available on the market next season. While Ferrari is considered the frontrunner to secure Newey’s services, there is speculation that he may return to McLaren, where he previously worked from 1995 to 2005. Despite the potential benefits of having Newey on board, Norris has expressed his support for the existing McLaren personnel.
When asked about the potential impact of Newey joining McLaren, Norris admitted uncertainty. He acknowledged that any team with Newey would likely make progress due to his exceptional mindset. Norris believes it would be an honor for any team to have someone as accomplished as Newey, especially considering Red Bull’s consistency over the past decade. However, Norris also emphasized his satisfaction with the current McLaren team. He expressed confidence in the team’s abilities and highlighted their desire to challenge and surpass Red Bull in the upcoming season. While it would be impressive to achieve this without Newey, Norris acknowledged that they would never turn down the opportunity to work with him.
McLaren Team Principal Stella suggested during the previous race in China that the Woking-based squad needed an additional year to be in a position to challenge Red Bull.
Similar to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Norris believes that the Austrian team will have enough depth to prevent a decline once Newey departs in 12 months’ time.
When asked if McLaren would have an easier time catching up to Red Bull without Newey’s involvement, Norris responded: “Um… yes, yeah I mean… if everything that is attributed to Red Bull is solely because of him, then of course you would say yes. I’m sure Adrian is not the only intelligent person in Red Bull.
“They are not only successful because they have a good car, they excel in all areas, including reliability, pit stops, and overall performance.
“This is not solely dependent on Adrian. So it’s not like they will lose him and suddenly struggle. They are still an exceptional team that will continue to perform at a high level.
“Hopefully, some of the unique aspects and clever strategies they possess may not develop as rapidly.
“I believe we have a lot of highly intelligent individuals, we are on the right path, and if we had the current team a few years ago, we would definitely be much closer, if not on par with Red Bull.”