Lando Norris will not leave McLaren, regardless of whether he loses the F1 drivers' championship to Oscar Piastri this season, according to Mark Gallagher.
Despite the perception of the British driver, that he lacks the mental toughness of his team-mate, the former F1 broadcaster and commentator insists the Woking-based squad rates the 25-year-old "very highly" and is committed to its current line-up, with both drivers on long-term deals.
However, the emergence of Piastri, who leads their intra-team title fight by 31 points with eight rounds of the campaign remaining, has led some to suggest the papaya outfit will back the Australian over Norris in the future.
That cuts against the ethos of the team, and everything either driver or Andrea Stella or Zak Brown has said about their pairing.
The two are imbued with a loyalty to McLaren, which places a premium on a team-first perspective and in return, the team is attempting to provide a level and fair playing field for them to fight their battle on.
So, when asked if he felt Norris could leave the reigning constructors' champions if he falls short of taking the drivers' crown and struggles to shake off the narrative surrounding him, Gallagher disagreed.
"No, I don’t think there’s any chance of that happening," he told Betway. "McLaren rate him very highly, and I’ve been massively impressed with Lando’s speed in both qualifying and races.
"Looking at the data and analysis of individual laps, there’s hardly anything between him and Oscar. They’re both really strong - it’s a fantastic pairing.
"Unfortunately, someone has to win the championship. But the other shouldn’t feel damaged by that - that’s just the way things fall.
"I don’t think missing out would hurt Lando’s trajectory. That failure in Zandvoort wasn’t his fault. Yes, he’s made mistakes in the past, but the real question is: do you learn from them?"
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The gloves are off
Gallagher highlighted how Norris' open and honest approach to the F1 press is used against him, which his self-critical nature turned into a weapon for his rivals to use against him.
But he maintains that the time for any such talk is now over and that the nine-time grand prix winner must view Piastri as the enemy in their "gloves-off" fight for the title.
"I think Piastri has made a few steps forward, and Lando has a very similar pace to him," he added. "The key now is whether Lando can address the so-called fragility - and I say 'so-called' because the media love to speculate about his self-doubt.
"He spoke about his mental health on the High Performance Podcast, but the truth is, he’s at the pinnacle of world motorsport now, and any perceived weakness - real or imaginary - gets magnified.
"I think the time for talking about fragility is over. This is war. And in this war, Oscar Piastri is the opponent. It’s a gloves-off battle now."
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back on the Italian Grand Prix! Max Verstappen's dominant win is a lead discussion, as is whether McLaren has set a precedent with its controversial team orders.
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