Herbert warns Norris against 'risky' switch to Red Bull

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Former Formula 1 race winner turned commentator and analyst Johnny Herbert has told Lando Norris that a future switch from McLaren to Red Bull could jeopardise his career at the top of the sport.

Herbert felt that Red Bull would always favour Max Verstappen over any team mate, and that Norris couldn't expect the same level of support he had enjoyed so far in his five years with McLaren.

Herbert's fellow ex-F1 driver and former Sky Sports F1 colleague Martin Brundle had suggested that Norris should keep his “options open” for the future when a berth at Red Bull alongside opens up.

Sergio Perez is under contract with the team until the end of the current season and at risk of being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo if he underperforms. Norris is currently due to remain at McLaren until the nd of 2025.

But Herbert disagrees with Brundle and believes Norris would be unwise to leave McLaren just when the team has enjoyed a phenomenal rise though the standings.

Read also: Norris insists self-criticism helps him achieve more

"If we do it just from a driver’s perspective, you’re always going to try and work out what’s going to benefit you,” Herbert told British tabloid Express Sport this week.

"Is the risk of him going to Red Bull worth it in the situation that he finds himself?" he asked. “McLaren is doing really, really well. McLaren love having him in the team. He delivers - when the car is working properly.

"Personally I don’t think [going to Red Bull] is worth the risk," Herbert stated. "I don’t see why he’d want to make his life that little bit more difficult when he's actually in a very good position at the moment.

“We’re going to have to wait and see, obviously," he continued. “He’s still young, he’s still going to get better, he’s still going to improve.

"At the moment McLaren are on a very good trajectory to get themselves maybe in a stronger position for next year."

During his time at McLaren to date, Norris established himself with a competitive performance in his rookie and sophomore seasons paired with Carlos Sainz, and then thoroughly out-performed Daniel Ricciardo in 2021-2022.

But in 2023 he faced stiffer competition from another F1 'young gun' in the form of Oscar Piastri, suggesting that things will only get tougher at McLaren for the 24-year-old in future.

That challenge goes hand in hand with the opportunity of McLaren's significant improvement in form. After a disappointing start in 2023, the team improved rapidly with upgrades after Austria making it the second-best car on the grid.

Norris and Piastri will remain with the team this season and hope to maintain the same momentum into the new campaign, with Red Bull in their sights.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.