'McLaren turnaround has prevented uncomfortable Norris questions'

Lando Norris is 'McLaren's driver.' As teams view themselves now asfranchises, all the leading outfits in Formula 1 have a 'franchisedriver' - be it Max Verstappen at Red Bull, Charles Leclerc atFerrari or Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at Mercedes. Norrishad been nurtured through the junior ranks by McLaren, and wasfirmly Zak Brown's driver, hence why Stoffel Vandoorne wasjettisoned for 2019 and then 19-year-old Norris handed a tenancyagreement on a McLaren cockpit. Russell also debuted that year withLeclerc into his second year in F1, having earned an immediatepromotion to Ferrari after an impressive rookie campaign withSauber in 2018 and so the careers of the trio are largely linked.2023 was the fifth season all three had been on the grid together,and of all their careers, Norris had enjoyed the least amount ofsuccess. Sure, there had been a few podiums, a pole position and alost victory at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix for the fiercelycompetitive and talented Norris, but both Russell and Leclercalready claimed their first wins and were in teams hoping tochallenge for the title in '23 - although that turned out to bewide of the mark. While Brown had worked wonders to turn around aMcLaren team on its knees in the summer of 2018, the team was stillstruggling to produce quality cars that could challenge for regularpodiums and even that ever elusive race win for Norris. Problems atthe start of the season And that winning itch was not about to bescratched when the MCL60 was unveiled in February with the teamopenly admitting that targets had been missed and a floor upgradein Azerbaijan would be key to turning the car around. Technicaldirector James Key fell on his sword as McLaren started the seasonslowly as a midfield also-ran with just 17 points after eight racesbetween Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri. Hardly a way to try andconvince your star driver that it might be worth sticking aroundbeyond your contract in 2025 when the likes of Mercedes and RedBull might have Hamilton and Verstappen-sized holes to fill. But,in Austria and Singapore, two big upgrade packages were added tothe MCL60 that transformed it into a competitive beast and vaultedthe car to second fastest behind Red Bull's RB19. Much is oftenmade of teams bringing upgrade packages that turn out to beover-hyped and don't bring the expected levels of performance - butwhat McLaren promised, it delivered. From the Austrian Grand Prix,Norris scored seven podiums including six second places as he ledthe charge up both the Drivers' and Constructors' tables, althoughhis recovery to fifth in Mexico was his best drive of the seasonafter a Q1 exit and dropping places on the red flag standingrestart. The future is Papaya Despite claiming fourth in theConstructors', there are still major problems for McLaren to solvewith its package. The car must be driven in a very particular way,and has weaknesses in low-speed corners that Norris believes hasnot been rectified since his debut, which are limiting hispotential to extract the maximum by nubbing his prefered drivingstyle. Norris likes to 'U' a corner, carrying more minimum speedthrough the apex in a smooth action, akin to Jenson Button, but hasbeen forced to instead 'V' corners, with a sharp turn-in to get thenose in before stamping on the throttle. It is a demand thatultimately doomed Daniel Ricciardo. In addition, Norris himself hassome weaknesses he needs to iron out, especially in qualifyingwhere at key moments in 2023, he cracked under pressure, such as inQatar and Abu Dhabi. That's okay when fighting for podiums, but inthe white-hot furnace of a championship battle and given how closethe field now is, behind Red Bull at least, mistakes like that willbe capitalised on and exploited by rivals. Norris is determined towin the title in a McLaren, as it is his team, but thatsentimentality will only get you so far. Sometimes being ruthlessand cutting ties is what is required for your career. But Norrisand McLaren have now built themselves a platform on which they canattack heading into 2025. He won't be going anywhere, and surely itis only a matter of time before he joins Russell and Leclerc as aGrand Prix winner.