The entire motorsport community has been buzzing with fascinating stories and rumors in recent months, but the one that caught a lot of our attention was undeniably Lando Norris‘ rumored move to Red Bull in 2024. Christian Horner and Co. have been seeking the perfect replacement for Sergio Perez amid the Mexican’s squandering performance so far this year.
And the one that managed to acquire Red Bull’s attention was Norris, a seemingly displeased British driver who has been yearning for the big opportunity amid McLaren’s ever-existing struggles. While Norris is open to a move to Red Bull, McLaren’s active partnership with Norris is proving to be the biggest obstruction at the moment.
🚨 Amid the Red Bull-Lando links, Nico Rosberg says he has heard that a switch is incoming for Norris
“Where’s he [Norris] going? Next year already, I hear there’s a switch coming.” 👀
[@SkySportsF1] #F1 pic.twitter.com/uRoBDhGlw9
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) September 5, 2023
Hence, stranded at the center of a tug-of-war between McLaren and Red Bull, Norris encountered one of the most hilarious moments of his career, earlier during the weekend at Monza.
What really happened between Lando Norris & Helmut Marko at Monza?
The Briton was zooming through the paddock on his scooter when he spotted one of his McLaren engineers walking ahead of him.
Subsequently, Norris scooted quite close to the unnamed engineer and raised his arm to tap on his shoulder, possibly as a cheeky prank. However, what Norris didn’t notice was Red Bull’s talent hunter, Dr. Helmut Marko, walking right beside him. Funnily enough, Norris’ arm raise seemed more like the driver was waving ‘Hi’ at the Austrian, to which Marko, too responded with a ‘Hi’.
Marko thought Lando said HI to him 😭 pic.twitter.com/emkubCBAY2
— Ani (@Louisxsun28) September 5, 2023
Marko has a crush 🤣🤣 I think he’ll get his man eventually
— Julius 🇳🇱🇧🇪 (@DijkmanJulius) September 5, 2023
But, Norris went on to ignore Marko completely, tapped on the engineer’s shoulder from behind, and scooted his way to the garage without once looking back. While Marko was quite bewildered by the rather awkward encounter, the McLaren engineer stood there clueless, wondering what really happened and who gave him the shoulder tap. Absolutely hilarious scenes!
One fan reckoned Marko has a “crush” on Norris after coming across the bizarre yet amusing incident.
Helmut Marko wants Norris at Red Bull
There is no arguing that Norris is one of the most evolving drivers on the grid who has lacked the right car to showcase his immense talent. Hence, with abundant racing skills in store, Marko wants to unleash a potentially deadly Norris-Red Bull combo upon the entire grid.
However, it doesn’t seem as achievable at the moment, with McLaren not prepared to risk losing Norris to an outfit as dominant as Red Bull. Therefore, can Marko spin up a way to acquire the million-dollar superstar? Let’s see what the future holds for the Milton Keynes outfit and its pursuit of Norris.