Marko reveals that Red Bull was close to sign Norris

Red Bull's motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has revealed that the Milton Keynes-based outfit was close to sign Lando Norris, but McLaren blocked the potential deal.

Lando Norris joined McLaren as a junior driver in 2017, and made his Formula One debut with the papaya team at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. The Briton has established himself as one of the most talented drivers since then, and he currently sits second in the drivers' championship, trailing reigning champion Max Verstappen by 62 points with eight F1 races remaining.

Reflecting on the battle for Norris' services, Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has now disclosed that Lando Norris could have raced for Red Bull's sister team, but McLaren intervened which blocked Red Bull's attempts to sign the young Briton.

At that time when Norris was about to make his F1 debut, Red Bull's sister team which was called Toro Rosso had Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat in their lineup.

"We had serious discussions and we had a contract ready for Lando Norris. For AlphaTauri, or Toro Rosso at that time. Unfortunately, they [McLaren] found out.

"They had two contracts and then one was a clause which stopped this cooperation with Lando Norris," Marko revealed on the Inside Line F1 podcast.