McLaren must prepare to thwart off poachers as Lando Norris' F1 stock rises

2023 has not been incredibly kind to the McLaren Formula 1 team, especially at the start of the season.

The team was among the slowest on the grid - if not the slowest - but began a gradual fightback process that resulted in upgrades being fitted to the car at the Austrian Grand Prix.

There, driver Lando Norris managed to wring the neck on his updated car to start and finish the race in fourth place. Teammate Oscar Piastri had a more difficult time, finishing outside the points in the pre-updated car.

But in Britain, both drivers raced with the updated car, with Norris benefitting from a new front wing and finishing in second place while Piastri was fourth.

It was a massive effort from a team fighting to make it up the grid the last few years, but the Hungarian Grand Prix proved that the team's turn in pace was no fluke as Norris, again, finished P2 and Piastri P5.

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This is bad, why?

While McLaren's improved performance is a substantial shining light, it does make things interesting going forward, especially where Norris is involved.

The 23-year-old Englishman is a hot commodity in F1. A talent who's shone through the ranks, every team has, at one point, considered making him an offer. But with Mclaren having tied him down until the end of 2024, there is little room for him to jump to another team.

Recently, it's been reported that Ferrari and Red Bull Racing are considering the youngster's services, but are willing to wait until next and present him with an offer to race for either in 2025.

At Ferrari, either Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz would get the boot, whereas at Red Bull, it'd be Sergio Perez - given that Max Verstappen is tied down until the end of 2028.

And if