"Brains and lap time are the two big things": Lando Norris on his expectations from McLaren's new signing from Red Bull

Lando Norris feels Rob Marshall being hired by McLaren will be hugely beneficial to the team.

Red Bull’s chief engineering officer will be joining the Woking team as their technical director of engineering and design in the 2024 season.

Commenting on the new recruitment Norris said:

“Just knowledge, expertise. He’s been at Red Bull for many, many years, he's seen a lot of success with the team. He's been with some of the best minds within Formula 1 and he's definitely part of that group. So, brains and lap time I guess are the two big things."

"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. It is also a good step for us as a team to keep this drive forward, continuing to add performance and expertise too.”

Expressing his enthusiasm for the new appointee, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said:

“So, Rob will join the team obviously with a unique level of experience, knowhow, in terms of engineering and design of Formula 1 cars. He has also been instrumental in creating such a strong technical department at Red Bull."

"So, at the moment, we are just very pleased and excited that Rob is keen to join our journey to take McLaren to the front of the grid. I think the technical structure is well-set now and quite strong, so I would take one day off.”

While McLaren already had one of Adrian Newey’s pupils Peter Pedromou, they have now recruited another member from his team. Marshall had a strong presence at Red Bull in their technical department and his addition to McLaren is expected to have a significant impact.

Norris believes Marshall’s appointment at the Woking-based team will contribute towards their progress and success in the future. Stella hailed the new appointment as one of the key moves to aid their team to be back at the front. He feels Marshall’s addition to the team completes their technical department structure and makes it stronger.

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McLaren boss claims Rob Marshall was very keen on joining the team

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella claims Red Bull’s chief engineering head Rob Marshall was keen and enthusiastic to join their team. Stella said that the level of respect Marshall had at Red Bull makes him a fundamental addition to their technical department. This is the second colleague of Adrian Newey to leave Red Bull after Dan Fallows left them to join Aston Martin.

Commenting on the new addition to their technical department, Stella said:

“Rob was very keen to join McLaren. He understood perfectly our journey, our ambition. I think he also understood that he could be a fundamental player in trying to do something important, like taking McLaren to victory, so strong motivation from his side."

"He has also been instrumental in creating such a strong technical department at Red Bull, and he has a unique level of experience and know-how in terms of engineering and design of Formula 1 cars. At Red Bull, they know very well the role Rob played over time, and I think this invokes respect for people. From what I could judge from the outside, I saw this level of respect from Red Bull to Rob which was good to see.”

The Woking-based team has not been in the hunt for a title or front runners since 2010. Their collaboration with Honda in 2015 led to a disastrous campaign and made them back markers with two world champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso in their lineup.

After Ron Dennis's departure, the Woking squad has struggled to surge back to the top and often ended up in the midfield. The right pool of talent in their technical department could help them achieve their goal of surging to the front within the aerodynamic era of the sport.