Lando Norris’ season could not have started better. The young Briton is the only remaining driver who has scored a point in all six Grand Prix so far this season and is currently fourth in the drivers’ championship, only three behind Sergio Perez in third place. He recently made headlines by signing a contract extension with McLaren that will keep him on the UK team until at least 2023.
This has raised some questions, however, and many fans are wondering whether or not the Norris-McLaren deal came too early or not. The 21-year-old is one of the future stars of Formula 1. If he had been able to continue his strong start to the season, he would have been one of the contenders for the Mercedes seat in the coming season.
Did Lando Norris trust McLaren with his future too soon?
Mercedes seat possibly on offer?
66 points in six races is not an easy task and if you are Lando Norris it only adds to your fame. Two podiums and more this year are definitely on the way to prove to many that he has to be one of the top pilots on the grid and, in my opinion, alongside George Russell can easily be described as the two drivers clearly on the Search are in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton.
With rumors that Valtteri Bottas will almost leave his Mercedes seat next season, many are thinking of who will replace him. The first name that immediately springs to mind is Russell, but could Norris have been a name on Toto Wolff’s mind if he hadn’t stepped down with McLaren?
It could easily have been an option for Mercedes to bring on a prominent scorer alongside Hamilton for another season, but this in turn could cause Russell’s development to be halted again and could for the German team in the future. Russell proved last season that he could easily keep up in the W12 from the start, but Norris could probably do the same.
Norris has only improved since joining Formula One three years ago. He racked up 49 points in his rookie year, with sixth in Bahrain and Austria being the best the Bristolian could achieve. The following season the young Brit took his first podium and finished the season with 97 points. After just six races in a 23-race season, Norris already has 66 points and was in the top five in five of them, only missing out in Barcelona. This only proves the talent that is being offered.
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However, I believe that Mercedes would only have called to Norris if a deal had not been made with Russell. The Williams driver is a Mercedes ‘Star Boy’ and will no doubt be one of the first choices, if possible, for the seat next to Hamilton next season, ousting Norris and making the deal with McLaren more feasible for the British’s future leaves the sport.
Can McLaren compete for a Formula 1 championship with Norris?
As previously mentioned, Norris’ improvement in his three years of competition in F1 cannot be downplayed. This is the same with McLaren’s improvement and success. The final championship for Team Papaya and Blue came in 2008 when Hamilton won the remainder of the grid. Their strong form then continued until 2012 when they finished third, but after that season a top three spot was difficult to achieve.
Seven years passed before the British team finished in the top three again. Two fifth places, followed by consecutive ninth and sixth places, and finally fourth place in Norris’ rookie season was the turning point.
Last season was McLaren’s first successful season in eight seasons and it was up to Carlos Sainz and Norris who had everything on top. Despite finishing on the podium only once, they helped McLaren beat Ferrari and Racing Point to claim third place. If Norris and his teammate Daniel Ricciardo can continue or even improve their start to the season, then they will undoubtedly have a better season than last year.
This will increase Norris’ chances of becoming champions with the British team. With the new rules and regulations, if McLaren is able to continue growing as a team next season, they can jump on top of other teams’ struggles and failures for the next year. This in turn could catapult Norris to the top of the drivers’ standings and prove to us that this resignation was the right step.
On the other hand, it could also go in the opposite direction. We don’t know how the next seasons will develop. In my opinion, the deal seemed too early, but if Norris and McLaren can continue the formidable form we saw earlier this season, then Zak Brown has done wonders.
Do you think it was the right time for Lando Norris to step down at McLaren? Or was it too early to start the season? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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