Red Bull have been urged to "go hard" to secure a mouth-watering partnership between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
You'd expect things to be settled at Christian Horner's team right now, with Verstappen having just secured his second successive world title by a mammoth 146 points. And him and partner Sergio Perez also secured the Constructors' title for the first time since 2013.
But the conclusion of their campaign was rife with controversy, after the Dutchman refused to give up a place to his partner in the Brazil Grand Prix, hindering his hopes of finishing second in the standings. Perez responded by saying over team radio the champion had "shown who he really is."
The team's success was also tainted by being found guilty of exceeding the budget cap in 2021. The FIA accepted the breach was minor, and opted to hit Red Bull with a fine and a reduction in the permitted amount of wind tunnel time.
But despite that, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok has urged Horner and co to break the bank. Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 season review, he said: "I think they should be going hard to try and buy Lando Norris."
The youngster has long been touted as a future title contender, despite still awaiting his first F1 win. And any move to prize him from McLaren would indeed require "going hard," given he signed a multi-million contract extension earlier this year.
Upon signing, Norris signalled his intention to be a championship contender with the British team, but they were well off the pace of the front runners in 2022. The 23-year-old notched the only podium outside Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes with a third place at Imola, eventually finishing seventh in the drivers' standings.
But Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is a long-time admirer of Norris, and tried to get him a Toro Rosso seat back in 2018. He also has a long-standing friendship with Verstappen, with the pair often mixing away from the track.
And were Red Bull to make an audacious move, they may seek to play on the uncertainty at McLaren, with Director of Racing Andrea Stella handed the role of Team Principal for 2023 in place of Andreas Seidl. Norris already has a rookie teammate for next season, with Oscar Piastri replacing Daniel Ricciardo.
