Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has subtly invited Lando Norris to join his team and win his first race in F1 sooner.
Last year, several rumors emerged about Lando Norris being targeted by Red Bull, especially when McLaren was underperforming at the start of the 2023 F1 season. The rumors died down after Norris signed a long-term deal with McLaren in January 2024, showing his commitment to the Woking-based team.
Coming into the 2024 F1 season, Red Bull continued their dominant run and started winning and locking the front-row finishes in most races. Other top teams like Ferrari and McLaren found themselves working their way to the defending world champions instead of challenging them for the title. Lando Norris only managed to score a single podium finish in the first five races of the season.
Ever since the Brit stood on the first F1 podium in the 2020 Austrian GP, he has been hungry to win a race. Though he has stepped on an F1 podium 15 times since then, none of them was for a race win.
Speaking to ServusTV, Helmut Marko admitted how Red Bull was keeping an eye on Lando Norris and pointed out that he has not won a Grand Prix yet. He recalled Norris' father joking that his son could only win a race if Max Verstappen retired. Lastly, he teased Norris that if he joined Red Bull, he could win a race a lot sooner.
"Lando Norris is young, and we're definitely watching him. He hasn't won a Grand Prix yet. His father already joked that he might win a race when Max retires, but when he comes to us, he wins faster," Marko said (via GPFans)
Lando Norris reckons McLaren could win races in the 2024 F1 season
Back in January 2024, when F1 was gearing up to start the season, Lando Norris believed that McLaren could win races and challenge Red Bull on certain tracks.
Speaking to F1.com, Norris initially recalled how his team had the opportunities to win races in the latter half of the 2023 F1 season, even when Red Bull's RB19 was obliterating the entire field. Hence, he was confident that McLaren could bag a win or two in 2024.
"[There were] moments we were close to winning races last year, and a few races we were not miles away from a Red Bull. And, when you think of it, it was the most competitive car ever in F1. So, with the knowledge, if you want to win one race, we are the closest we've ever been since I've been here at McLaren and for many, many years," Norris said.
"But fighting for a championship is a bigger step. If you asked me, 'Do you think you can win races this year?' I'd probably be more inclined to say yes," he added.
McLaren's last F1 race win was in 2021 when Daniel Ricciardo won in the Italian GP in Monza.
