Helmut Marko names the F1 rival who “would have fitted very well” at Red Bull

Helmut Marko believes Lando Norris would have been perfectly suited to the Red Bull family, detailing negotiations with the British driver before he joined McLaren.

After finishing runner-up to George Russell in FIA Formula 2, Norris was placed alongside Carlos Sainz at McLaren for the 2019 F1 season.

Norris was in talks with Red Bull about joining their junior programme.

At the time, Red Bull’s sister team struggled to acquire top talent, forcing them to re-sign Brendon Hartley at Toro Rosso for 2018. 

Daniil Kvyat remained part of Red Bull’s junior team due to a lack of options.

Last year, Marko revealed he had “serious discussions” about signing Norris.

“We had serious discussions and we had a contract ready for Lando Norris,” Marko told the Inside Line F1 podcast. “For AlphaTauri or Toro Rosso at that time.

“And unfortunately they [McLaren] found out. They had two contracts and then one was a clause which stopped this cooperation with Lando Norris.”

In a new interview with Tom Clarkson on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Marko spoke about his interest in Norris and why he would have “fitted very well” at Red Bull.

“We were at a very early stage in negotiations with Lando Norris,” Marko explained.

“In the end, we didn’t get him, but I think he would have fitted very well to us.

“On the other hand, we can’t have everybody. We are looking for champions.”

Marko names his best drivers

Marko has overseen Red Bull’s junior programme since its inception in the mid-2000s.

Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen progressed through the programme, winning four drivers’ titles each.

Reflecting on working with both champions, Marko said:

“When Vettel left, we didn’t look for a new Vettel. We looked for a new champion. … Max is absolutely committed.

“You know, what I don’t understand, after Grand Prix winning, he jumps on his plane & goes in a simulator & makes an e-race. Okay, that’s maybe the modern times but and also, like Nurburgring with his Ferrari victory, that meant to him so much. And that shows that he’s a racer pure.”

“Vettel was very in the beginning already going in each detail, was sitting with his engineer & a little bit like Senna, insisting on small details, you know, how much fuel and so on. Where they are similar is the mental strength. I remember (2012), we were around I think 40 points behind Alonso & we still won the championship.”