F1 News: Lando Norris Confronts Rumours Of Leaving McLaren Despite Huge Improvements
Lando Norris, the talented McLaren driver, firmly dismissed any rumours about him contemplating a switch from his current team, labelling such claims as “nonsense”. The 23 year old has been with McLaren since the 2019 F1 world championship, and has been yearning for success since. Fortunately for him, the British team has seen an upswing in performance since their upgrades in Austria, placing them firmly in the mix as the second fastest team right now behind Red Bull.
With the Woking squad also expecting a number of professionals nicked from other teams in the near future in the shape of Ferrari’s David Sanchez and Red Bull’s Rob Marshall, it's an exciting time for the team that has for too long been flying under the radar.
But with Lando Norris' contract with the team coming to a close in 2025, rumours are picking up about a potential move to a more successful team. Talking with Channel 4, he put these rumours to rest:
“It’s not something I think about,” he insisted. “I see it a lot on social media and all this nonsense because a lot of people come up with some of these things that I see.
“I’m happy with the team. I could be happier if we were winning races but I also know that it takes time and a lot of effort, a lot of dedication to it but that’s what I signed up for.”
With the team making significant steps forwards, totalling 80% of their points in just the last three races, we've seen a jump in confidence from young Norris and rookie Oscar Piatri who are keen to take home their first race win this season. But, Lando is a self-proclaimed "pessimistic guy", who is keen to keep his wits about him.
“It is definitely true we’ve taken a step forward which is nice to see,” he continued. “And we wouldn’t have been in this position if we didn’t bring upgrades and make the step that we have, [but] in the back of my mind I’m still a pessimistic guy.
“I know there’s going to be some races which we’re not going to get that good [result]. We had two good weekends but we are going to struggle in some of the coming races.
“But we’ve definitely taken a step forward which I guess I’m happiest about. We’ve given ourselves the chance to fight for good points and fight for podiums.
“There’s a lot of criticism that we get and then when we have a podium like last weekend, for me, that’s the verification that I need that I’m absolutely with the right team and the team I want to win with.”