Lando Norris and McLaren emerged as the biggest competitors to Red Bull post-summer break, and while they were unable to win any races, they still managed to give Max Verstappen some trouble by competing for the lead in races.
Red Bull’s Christian Horner acclaimed Lando Norris and McLaren’s performance in 2023, but a recent video posted by the Austrian outfit took a direct jab at McLaren and cheekily complimented Lando Norris on his actions. It is evident that Lando is quite popular in the paddock and Red Bull will spare no chance to take advantage of that.
Red Bull assures Lando Norris of solid backing
McLaren has announced a new sponsor for their Formula 1 team and it’s the famous energy drink company, Monster. Monster has been an integral part of the motorsport scene for a long time and it already sponsors Mercedes. McLaren’s partnership with Monster means that its drivers will endorse their products by consuming it publicly and using them whenever they can.
The introduction of a new energy drink, means competition for one of the most prominent sponsors of the sport and current champions, Red Bull. Lando Norris became prey to Red Bull’s humorous jibe at McLaren as they posted a video of the Papaya team’s ace choosing a Red Bull can to refresh himself. They released the video the very same day, McLaren announced its partnership with McLaren and captioned the post, claiming, “Don’t worry Lando Norris, we’ll always have your back in your moment of need.”
Monster wouldn’t be too pleased with his video, as it implies their drivers are not using the sponsored drink and instead preferring their competitor’s product during post-race cooldowns. It will be interesting to wait for Monster’s reply to this post.
Norris hails McLaren’s turnaround
Lando Norris was unaware of the prank he became a part of; however, he will be careful later on to stay away from any red cans of energy drinks. These jokes cannot downplay the massive improvement McLaren has shown throughout the year. They rose from the ashes to to the top of the grid by introducing upgrades and turning around the pace of their car.
Lando Norris was able to profit from McLaren’s renewed pace immediately and he started scoring podiums and top-5 finishes easily, highlighting Papaya’s team’s success enthusiastically. In a recent interview, the Briton applauded his team for the turnaround and discussed his emotions throughout the season. āI’m so emotionally proud of the whole team, that they did such a big turnaround,ā Norris told the media, includingĀ RacingNews365.com.
āIt was one of the biggest turnarounds in probably the last 10 years, in a period of time when it’s more difficult than ever to turn the car around because of wind tunnel time and costs and all of these things. The beginning was tough because I thought it was going to be for a whole year. We didn’t know how much we were going to improve, especially at the very beginning.”
The amazing performance of McLaren in the late half of the 2023 season highlights an important fact: it won’t be easy for Red Bull to replicate their current feat. Max Verstappen too, is worried about Red Bull’s condition in 2024 and all sources suggest that next season may have some cutthroat competition.
