Lando Norris, a British driver from McLaren, has issued a challenge to the current engineers at McLaren. He wants them to prove that the team can achieve victory in Formula 1 without relying on the expertise of renowned designer Adrian Newey. Newey, who spent nearly two decades at Red Bull, will be available on the market next season. Although Ferrari is considered the favorite to secure Newey’s services, there is speculation that he may return to McLaren, where he previously worked from 1995 to 2005. Despite the potential benefits of having Newey on board, Norris expressed his support for McLaren’s current team.
When asked about the potential impact of Newey’s arrival at McLaren, Norris admitted uncertainty. He acknowledged that any team with Newey would likely progress due to his exceptional mindset. Norris believes it would be an honor for any team to have someone as talented as Newey, especially considering Red Bull’s consistency over the past decade. However, Norris also emphasized his satisfaction with McLaren’s current team. He expressed confidence in the team’s abilities and highlighted the desire to challenge and surpass Red Bull next season. Although it would be impressive to achieve this without Newey, Norris acknowledged that they would never turn down the opportunity to work with him.
Stella, McLaren’s team principal, suggested during the previous race in China that the Woking-based team needed another year to be in a position to challenge Red Bull.
Like Sergio Perez from Red Bull, Norris believes that the Austrian team will have enough depth to avoid a decline when Newey departs in 12 months.
Cuando se le preguntó si McLaren tendría más facilidad para alcanzar a Red Bull sin la participación de Newey, Norris respondió: «Um… sí, sí, quiero decir… si todo lo que se atribuye a Red Bull es solo por causa de él, entonces obviamente dirías que sí. Estoy seguro de que Adrian no es la única persona inteligente en Red Bull.
«No son exitosos solo porque tienen un buen coche, destacan en todas las áreas, incluyendo la confiabilidad, las paradas en boxes y el rendimiento general.
«Esto no depende exclusivamente de Adrian. Así que no es como si lo perdieran y de repente tuvieran dificultades. Siguen siendo un equipo excepcional que seguirá actuando a un alto nivel.
«Con suerte, algunas de las características únicas y estrategias inteligentes que poseen pueden no desarrollarse tan rápidamente.
«Creo que tenemos muchas personas altamente inteligentes, estamos en el camino correcto y si tuviéramos al equipo actual hace algunos años, definitivamente estaríamos mucho más cerca, si no al mismo nivel que Red Bull.»
