Red Bull boss reveals contract talks with Lando Norris

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has shed light on having held contract talks with McLaren star Lando Norris. In line with this, he has also asserted that the Milton Keynes-based team just can't have 'everybody'.

Lando Norris is currently fighting for the coveted 2025 Formula 1 drivers' world championship. He is in the driving seat, having amassed 390 points and being 24 points ahead of title rival and teammate Oscar Piastri. Red Bull's Max Verstappen is in third place with 341 points.

Helmut Marko recently appeared on the Beyond the Grid podcast, where he talked at length about several things. One of those was revealing that his team held talks with Lando Norris in the past (didn't give a specific timeframe), but it just didn't lead to anything.

"I mean, we had at a very early stage in 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. So, we focus and as I said, we are looking for Champions." (40:50 onwards).

Red Bull is blessed when it comes to its pool of drivers. The outfit currently has four-time world champion Max Verstappen and a couple of promising young drivers in the form of Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) and Arvid Lindblad.

"The pressure is high": McLaren boss on team dynamic between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

While Helmut Marko has admitted to having held talks with Lando Norris in the past, the McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, has taken the time to talk about the relationship between Norris and Oscar Piastri heading into the final three rounds of 2025.

"We are not naive. We know that the pressure is high. We know that the stake is big, but we will continue leaning on our framework, on our principles, on the good conversations." (Via: Sky F1).

"So far, what I've seen is that Lando and Oscar have always been very supportive. Oscar talked very clearly about the respect - the mutual respect, the mutual support that is happening between himself and the team, and likewise is happening with Lando. So we are in a strong position. We are not naive, but we will work very hard to make sure that this position stays until the end of the championship."

In the first 21 rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 season, Lando Norris has managed to amass seven Grand Prix wins with 17 podiums, whereas Oscar Piastri has also put on board the same number of wins, but with 14 podiums. Round 22, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, is slated to take place this week around the 6.201 km street circuit.

Edited by Rishabh Negi