Norris “will be thinking about” move to Ferrari or Red Bull, says Chandhok
Norris finished a lowly 17th at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday after a pressure leak with the engine pneumatics forced him into the pit lane on a handful of occasions.
It means Norris was lapped twice by eventual race winner Max Verstappen.
On the other side of the garage, Oscar Piastri’s F1 debut ended prematurely, with an electrical issue to blame for his non-finish in Bahrain.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Chandhok questioned whether Norris will be pondering his future following a difficult Bahrain GP.
“I tell you who will be thinking about a move to Ferrari or Red Bull though, is young Lando Norris,” he said on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast.
“Looking at where they’re [McLaren] at, and we were talking before the season of McLaren locking him in and Zak [Brown] doing an amazing job of contracting him in for that four-year period.
“I do wonder, and if they’re smart they would have created some sort of exit clauses. For example, McLaren don’t finish in the top four of the constructors’ championship two years in a row, is there an option for Lando to look elsewhere?
“Because outside of the traditional top three teams, you’ve got Fernando [Alonso] and Lando who are your top two drivers on the grid aren’t they?
“And the fact he [Norris] is fighting to even get a car into Q3, there’s got to be a bit of frustration there I would imagine.”
Despite Chandhok’s suggestion, Norris himself has previously reiterated his desire to remain with McLaren, insisting he will have to be “patient”.
“We are a team who should be able to win championships and we soon have everything in place to do so,” he last month.
“I am probably not the most patient guy but it’s something you need to learn to have when you get into F1.
“Until then, I am just doing my job to achieve everything I can one weekend at a time and that’s the way I go about it.”
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
