Approached by Red Bull twice, Norris expresses no regrets, emphasizing the high stakes in their driver lineup dynamics.
Although Lando Norris has only raced for McLaren since his debut in Formula 1, the British driver, who is currently second in the world championship standings, was once on the radar of Red Bull’s driver development programme, a team he ultimately never joined.
Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s advisor, confirmed the Austrian firm’s interest in Norris, dating back to 2016.
“We had serious discussions and even had a contract ready for Lando Norris, either for AlphaTauri or Toro Rosso at the time,” Marko revealed.
“Unfortunately, McLaren found out. They had two contracts, and one of them included a clause that ended the cooperation with Lando Norris.”
Marko made a renewed approach in 2020, but Norris chose to extend his tenure with McLaren.
For his part, Norris admits that the decision not to sign for Red Bull wasn’t taken lightly. He acknowledges the team’s reputation for replacing drivers quickly, a reality Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon can certainly attest to.
“I’d say that for anyone in the position of signing with Red Bull, it’s definitely tense because there’s always another driver waiting. You know the Red Bull story,” Norris remarked.
“I actually met Helmut Marko after I qualified on pole in Monaco, before I was disqualified for having something illegal on the car. I was in Formula Renault at the time, back in 2016, on pole, and my manager got a call from Helmut Marko. I went to the Formula 1 paddock, to the Red Bull barge, met him, and we had a brief conversation.”
“He just wanted to know a bit more about me and asked a few questions. ‘How much does a Formula Renault weigh?’ I had no idea and just guessed something like ‘Yeah, you know, 400 kilos, 426, something like that.’ And he replied, ‘Ah, alright.’ I think I even ended up saying, ‘I don’t really know.’”
“And the next thing he said… I’m not sure if I should say this. The next thing he said was, ‘Well, Max would know. Max knows everything about the car! Max knows everything about the car!’ And yeah, I didn’t know what to say after that. I don’t really remember what happened next… I didn’t say anything, I was just like, ‘Ok, let’s move on.’ I was left speechless, and that was pretty much it.”
Norris would have been “walking a tightrope” at Red Bull
After confirming that he never received a formal offer from Red Bull following his meeting with Dr. Marko, Lando Norris has no regrets about remaining free to pursue his own path at the time.
“I was in a good position with what I was doing, and my manager handled a lot of the discussions and things like that, but it was for the best. There may have been something, but I ended up not joining Red Bull, and I continued on the path I was on at the time, which was doing well in Formula Renault. I ended up winning, and I was a free guy, really—I didn’t get caught up with Red Bull… You know, once you’re in, you’re walking a tightrope with what you can do.”
“My manager knew the best thing for me was to stay independent, not tied to Red Bull or any other team at the time. That gave me the option to move into F3 and F2 before deciding which Formula 1 team to join.”
Lastly, addressing more recent matters, Norris was asked about the ongoing spat between his boss, Zak Brown, and Dr. Marko concerning him.
“It doesn’t really bother me that people say what they want about me, whether good or bad.”
“Everyone’s playing their part, whether it’s team bosses, drivers, or managers. Everyone’s trying to wind each other up with their little comments and remarks.”
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Norris reflects on rejecting Red Bull: “No hard feelings” Norris reflects on rejecting Red Bull: “No hard feelings”
