Norris challenges McLaren F1 to show that it does not need Newey – Motorsport Week

Lando Norris has challenged current McLaren engineers to prove the team can win again in Formula 1 without having to sign design legend Adrian Newey.

Newey will be available on the market from next term following his decision to leave Red Bull after spending almost two decades with the reigning F1 champions.

Ferrari remains the favorite to acquire Newey’s services, but the Brit has been tipped to return to McLaren, with whom he worked between 1995 and 2005.

But while Norris admits it would be unwise for McLaren to pass up the opportunity to sign F1’s most successful designer, he has pledged his support to existing staff.

Asked about the prospect of Newey moving to McLaren and what he could bring to the team, Norris said: “I mean, what would he bring, I have no idea. I wish I knew.

“Anyone who wants Adrian on their team will probably move forward. And if he has a mind like not many others.

“So I think it would be an honor for any team to have Adrian in their team, especially when he has achieved so much since being in Formula 1, but also in the last five, ten years. Red Bull has been the most consistent team over the last ten or fifteen years. They have been more consistent than Mercedes, more consistent than Ferrari, more consistent than anyone else.

“It would always be a great addition. I think everyone would say welcome. But on the other hand, I think we’re in a very good position now with who we have.

“I’m very happy. I think if you ask Zak (Brown) and Andrea (Stella), we would tell him that we are very happy with the team we have now.

“At the same time, we have a year where we really want to try to catch Red Bull.

“It would be great if we could do it without Adrian, just to prove how good a team we have for now. But yeah. If he wanted to walk our way, you would certainly never say no.

(L to R): Adrian Newey (GBR) Red Bull Racing Chief Technical Officer with Jeremy Clarkson (GBR) and Zak Brown (USA) McLaren Executive Director on the grid. 02.03.2024. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 1, Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir, Bahrain, race day.

McLaren team boss Stella suggested during the final round in China that the Woking team needed another twelve months to challenge Red Bull.

Like Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Norris suspects the Austrian team will retain enough strength to avoid a recession once Newey leaves in twelve months.

When asked whether McLaren would be able to catch Red Bull more easily without Newey’s intervention, Norris replied: “Errr… yes, yes I mean… if everything there is to see about Red Bull is thanks to him, then of course you would yes say. I’m sure Adrian isn’t the only smart one at Red Bull.

“They are not just good because they have a good car, they are good at everything, normally they are the most reliable car, the best performing car and the best pit stops.

“This is not just Adrian’s fault. So it’s not like they’re going to lose him and suddenly have trouble. It’s still a very good team that will continue to perform very well.

“You would hope that some of their little extras that they have and some of their smarter things that they have, they might not be able to develop as quickly.

“I think we have a lot of smart people, we are on the right track and if we had the team we have now a few years ago we would certainly be a lot closer and if we were not racing with Red Bull.”