Norris’ confidence in McLaren increases with ‘big’ signing

In the latest coup for McLaren’s reshuffled technical department, the Woking outfit have poached veteran Red Bull chief engineering officer Marshall from the reigning world champions. 

Marshall, who has been a key member of Red Bull’s design team for the last 17 years, will join McLaren at the start of 2024. 

Reacting to the news of McLaren’s recruitment, Norris said Marshall will being much-needed “knowledge and expertise” to the British team. 

“He's been at Red Bull for many, many years, he’s seen a lot of success with the team,” Norris said on Thursday ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. 

"He's been with some of the best minds within Formula 1, and he's definitely part of that group. Brains and laptime are the two big things [he will bring].

"He's a big person, a big signing for us as a team. So I think someone that a lot of people within McLaren will look up to and respect and so on.

"A good step for us as a team to keep this drive forward, continuing to add performance and expertise to the whole team in our drive to improve further up the grid.”

McLaren’s disappointing start to the season prompted question marks over Norris’ future, but the 23-year-old, who is tied down until the end of the 2025 campaign, has reiterated his faith in the team’s project on several occasions. 

Asked how much belief he has in what Zak Brown is creating at McLaren, Norris replied: "I would say a lot, even more now than in the past. 

“I guess I would never want to say that I have no belief, and I never have said it and probably won't. 

“But definitely since the last few changes, there have been a lot of good things coming from that, both in terms of mood, atmosphere, but at the same time also performance and things to look forward to in the future. 

“So not everything is purely direct in Formula 1. A lot of things take time. So I guess you have that part of it too. But definitely things have taken a step forward.

“I can easily confirm that and say it with confidence. But until we see it, that’s the timely part.”