Disappointing Norris poses a massive problem for McLaren

McLaren proudly extended the contracts of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for several years. Norris is secured at least until 2027 with McLaren, and Piastri even until 2030. They were supposed to form the best driving duo in Formula 1. However, the problem is that the better driver is not the highest paid.

Because Norris, logically, got the bigger contract between the two drivers. Norris was the subject of attention from Red Bull Racing and was the best driver of the team until 2024. The 40 million Norris reportedly earns annually was primarily an investment in the driver who was supposed to help the team to a world title.

It's a structure often seen in top teams. One driver has to lead and become world champion, while the other should come as close as possible. No matter how loudly McLaren claims that the two drivers are equal, the dynamics are somewhat different. As the more experienced driver, more is expected from Norris, and he is paid accordingly.

By 2025, however, more and more of a situation is emerging where this is not the case. Oscar Piastri has been the better of the two drivers this season so far, especially being the most consistent. Where one would expect someone in their seventh year in F1 to be more consistent than someone in their third year, the roles are reversed.

Norris's apologies after an incident like the one in Canada are certainly in order, but not really enough. Norris's mistakes are still covered by Zak Brown and Andrea Stella with the figurative cloak of love, but they too must be having their doubts whether Norris is worth the money.

If Piastri continues this way, he will start demanding the same, if not a higher salary than Norris. And rightly so, especially if he wins the world title. Then McLaren would be stuck with two overly expensive drivers, one of whom is definitely not worth his figure.

It's not a new situation for McLaren. The same happened with Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo was even brought in to become the leader at McLaren, but was outperformed by Norris for two years. The internal team dynamics were off, so McLaren bought out the Australian's contract.

A similar situation arose at Red Bull Racing in 2014. Back then, Sebastian Vettel was the high-paid force after four world titles, but he was defeated by his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo. That problem solved itself for Red Bull as Vettel sought refuge with Ferrari.

More recently, it also created an awkward situation at Mercedes, where Lewis Hamilton was increasingly edged out by George Russell. That issue also resolved itself as Hamilton, after a 1+1 deal, chatted with Ferrari about a possible deal. Now, Ferrari has a problem.

Ferrari is generally the team where this frequently occurs. Think back to 2008 and 2009 when the expensive Kimi Raikkonnen was defeated by the younger Felipe Massa. Or Sebastian Vettel, who was shown up by Charles Leclerc. Or now Lewis Hamilton, who, as an expensive acquisition, can't make an impression next to Leclerc.

If there's a team where underperforming drivers with a big name can end up, it's Ferrari. Perhaps this could also be a solution for McLaren this time?