Lando Norris declared his McLaren team will have "no excuse" if they cannot give him a car in which he can fight for race wins by 2024.
Norris is one of the best young racers in Formula 1 and is widely regarded as a potential future champion. But he is yet to win a race in the sport despite some impressive performances and results as he approaches the end of his fourth season with McLaren.
It is a team comfortably at the head of the midfield, tussling for fourth place with Alpine again this year. But as far ahead as they are of the teams that make up the bottom half of the constructors' standings, they remain a long way off being able to challenge any of the 'big three' for victories.
Norris understands that, and knows that it will take time before he can start competing for the honours he wants. But he has admitted his patience is not limitless in that regard, and hinted he could look elsewhere if his team's performance cannot match his own ambitions.
"I believe in us. We've reached a point where we have a better understanding of what we need to do. What direction we need to take and how to achieve our goals," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "We also have a better understanding of why we haven't taken as many steps forward as we wanted to over the last two years.
"Is it because of our vehicle philosophy? By design? At the wind tunnel? I hope our new one will help us for 2024 and 2025. I have to have faith that my team can do a good job. [2024] will be our first year in which we have no more excuses.
"At the moment we can still come up with good excuses. Believe me, nobody likes to say that we had the best possible weekend and that we're behind for the reasons just mentioned. We always look at what we can do better. 2024 will be the first year in which we operate with our infrastructure almost at the level of the top teams. The rest is then up to us, the people who work here."
In the same interview, Norris also revealed that he had been approached by Red Bull and considered his options before deciding to extend his stay with McLaren. "But that just shows even more how much confidence I have in McLaren. Although there were talks, I felt McLaren was better for me to achieve my goals," he added.
"I'm super happy and comfortable. I enjoy it at McLaren. I enjoy working with the guys. I believe in them. If I didn't, I wouldn't have signed a long-term contract. My head is looking ahead. My ideas are long-term. We have to keep working continuously. In 2024 and 2025, I will then have my best chance with McLaren."
