Under Helmut Marko, the Red Bull system was on the hunt for future champions, and Lando Norris would have “fitted very well” into the Red Bull system.
That is according to Marko, the former Red Bull senior advisor and driver programme boss. He spoke of “very early stage” negotiations to bring Norris into the Red Bull fold, a pursuit which was unsuccessful, as Norris went on to join McLaren’s ranks, and become World Champion in 2025.
Red Bull held Lando Norris talks but ‘didn’t get him’
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It was in 2017 that Norris first joined the McLaren programme, rising through the junior ranks before making his Grand Prix debut for the team in 2019.
Skip forward to F1 2025, and Norris became World Champion with McLaren, beating Red Bull’s four-time title-winner Max Verstappen by two points.
History could have taken a different course had Red Bull been Norris’s home.
The Brit has spoken in the past about a 2016 Monaco meeting with Marko, who previously stated that McLaren blocked a drive for Norris with Red Bull’s junior F1 team.
In a recent Beyond the Grid podcast appearance, Marko was asked whether any talents slipped through his fingers, a driver which he wanted to have, during his time in charge of the Red Bull driver programme.
He pointed to Norris, suggesting that he and Red Bull would have been a match made in heaven.
“We had, at a very early stage, a negotiation with Lando Norris, and in the end, we didn’t get him.
“But yes, I think he would have fitted very well to us.
“But on the other hand, we can’t have everybody.
“We are looking for champions.”
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Marko confirmed “yes” when asked if he has ever been wrong about a driver.
He was subsequently asked if a driver who he axed from the Red Bull driver programme who, in hindsight, he should have shown more patience with.
Marko was known for his no-nonsense, sometimes brutal, approach to running the Red Bull Junior Team.
Yet, the results cannot be questioned, with Red Bull having produced a pair of multi-time champions in Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.
The likes of Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly, all Grand Prix winners, also came through the Red Bull ranks.
“No, that’s not the case,” he said, “but, it was the opposite.
“A lot of drivers where I thought they could do great. They didn’t in the end.
“Nearly all had the talent, but they were not seriously working, or they hadn’t the mental strength which is necessary, because they believed once they are from Formula 2, going to Formula 1, someone is carrying their helmet, and their life is nice. But, it’s opposite.
“The pressure is double as much, and you have to deliver every lap. So in this pressure, not many could stand.”
Marko stepped down from his position as Red Bull senior advisor and driver programme boss following the 2025 season.
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