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Lando Norris is stuck in a no man's land at McLaren. The young British driver made his debut with the team in 2019 and has since grown immensely.
After spending two years honing his craft with Carlos Sainz as his teammate, Norris took the next step in 2021 and effectively became the team leader at McLaren.
Since then, the driver has grown from strength to strength. He has secured podiums for the team, bagged his first-ever pole position in Russia in 2021, and is now considered one of the best drivers on the grid. Not only that, he now prominently features amongst the top five drivers on the F1 grid.
However, it does appear that Lando Norris has made one serious mistake, with it being putting faith in McLaren long-term. The driver is on a long-term contract with the British team, an extension of which was signed by him last season. The contract ends at the end of the 2025 F1 season and if we are to believe Zak Brown then there is no exit clause in place for Lando Norris to wiggle his way out of the team.
Well, we heard a somewhat similar claim from Daniel Ricciardo last season as well when the Australian claimed that he had a contract with McLaren until the end of the 2023 F1 season. Looking at the McLaren lineup this season and finding Oscar Piastri in place of Daniel Ricciardo should tell us that one can find their way through a contract.
If Lando Norris wants to move away from McLaren, he can certainly find a way. Now, coming to the second part of the equation - why Norris should move away from McLaren if he wants to become a world champion?
#1 McLaren is nowhere close to being a frontrunner
In what appears to be another year in the wilderness, it's safe to say that the fat lady has sung for McLaren. The team is not fighting for the title any time soon. It peaked in 2020 when the duo of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris helped the team finish P3 in the championship.
Since then, though, it's been an inverse trajectory for the Woking-based squad. 2021 was P4 and 2022 was P5 in the championship. Looking at the team in terms of pace after the first three races, it's hard to see the team do any better than what it did in 2022.
James Key has been chucked out in the process and David Sanchez will take his place next season but none of these moves are a sign of a team that is progressing towards the front in the short term.
There are far too many holes that McLaren needs to plus and when it comes to being the frontrunner, it's going to take time for the team to reach that stage.
#2 There are teams with possibly more potential where Lando Norris could move
At this stage, one of the major examples Norris needs to keep an eye on is what Fernando Alonso was able to do with his move to Aston Martin.
The Spaniard saw a team that had been hiring people at a canter and making significant investments in its infrastructure. He saw a team that had the potential to be a frontrunner one day and thought it was best to align with it.
The gamble to move from Alpine to Aston Martin has paid off for him brilliantly. For Norris, this should serve as an inspiration and a lesson as well. McLaren hasn't shown the hunger or the urgency that Aston Martin did. Could Norris take a punt and move to a team that his former boss moved to?
Could Lando Norris move to Sauber (soon to be Audi) and try to build a team with Andreas Seidl? Or could he get in touch with Toto Wolff at Mercedes or Fred Vasseur at Ferrari for a possible opening?
There are certain opportunities that could be on the table if Norris is diligent enough to look out for them.
#3 Example of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg should be a lesson
One major lesson that Norris will do a good job of learning is to take a look at the careers of drivers like Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg.
Both were once touted to be the next superstars in F1. However, being part of the wrong machinery at the wrong time meant that after a while they were not the red-hot property that they should have been.
A driver's performance can be significantly limited by the car he drives and more often than not, this is what determines the kind of success he achieves in his career. Lando Norris is not the youngest driver on the grid anymore and will need to be a bit more proactive in his pursuit of driving for a top team.
There's always a new driver coming up, there's always a new upcoming talent knocking on the door. Unless you strike the iron when it is hot, you will lose momentum.
Lando Norris is now at a crucial juncture and needs to chart his path to the front of the grid.
