Ralf Schumacher highlights one key factor in Lando Norris to Red Bull move
McLaren's Lando Norris on the podium at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Ralf Schumacher believes a possible switch to Red Bull for Lando Norris will come down to his own self-belief, as well as money…
Throughout the course of this season, Lando Norris’ potential future at Red Bull has become a talking point – the British driver is known to have been approached by Red Bull in the past, and senior management have indicated interest in him again for the future.
Recently, Norris said that he’d be more than open to working alongside Max Verstappen as a teammate, joking that the Dutch driver would be welcome at McLaren any time.
Ralf Schumacher: Is it the right time for Lando Norris to seek another challenge?
While Norris remains under contract with McLaren until the end of 2025, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has said he will be of major interest once that time comes – particularly if Red Bull do sever ties with Sergio Perez at the conclusion of 2024.
“Norris has a firm contract until the end of 2025. After that, he will be very interesting for many teams.”
Speaking to Formel1.de ontheir live YouTube streamlast week, Ralf Schumacher weighed in on the topic as he spoke with host Christian Nimmervoll.
“Lando Norris will surely seek another challenge at some point, but is it already the right time?” he questioned, given McLaren’s rapid turnaround during the season to become F1’s second-quickest team.
“It depends a bit on money and maybe he believes he can beat the best driver in the world, who is Max Verstappen at the moment.”
Schumacher also pointed out that seeing drivers getting along in a fashion like Verstappen and Norris, or Norris with Carlos Sainz, would have been unfathomable during his time as a Grand Prix racer.
“I find it difficult to estimate because when I look at how we treated each other back then, as opposed to today’s drivers, it’s a different dynamic,” he said.
“You almost get the impression that Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz are still teammates on Sundays. After the race [in Singapore], it was incredible; Carlos Sainz was there with his former team and was talking to them. It was interesting to see how close they were.”
Christian Horner: Red Bull want the two best drivers we can possibly have
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has also spoken about the prospect of Norris switching sides to join his team in the future.
“Lando’s a great driver. He’s a big talent, big personality, and of course, he’s one of those drivers that you keep an eye on,” he told Sky F1.
“But there are many drivers that you keep an eye on as well. There’s a generation of drivers out there at the moment that have got a huge amount of talent.
“Max is operating at such a level that his confidence, his commitment, his talent is absolute at the moment and it’s difficult to envisage somebody beating him in the same equipment. But there’s some great talent out there and of course, what we want is the best two drivers we can possibly field.
“So ideally that will come from within the talent pool that we have, and if we don’t believe there’s that capability we will look outside of that as to who’s available.”
