Lando Norris will remain loyal to the McLaren Formula 1 team in the coming years. Despite interest from other teams, including Red Bull Racing, the Brit has extended his contract with the Woking-based team for several years. McLaren announced this on Friday afternoon. However, just like earlier this week with Charles Leclerc, it is still unclear until when the 24-year-old Briton has signed.
Norris made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren in 2019 and since then the young Briton has developed into one of the most sought-after drivers in the current field. Red Bull Racing would see Max Verstappen as the perfect teammate in Norris, but the Austrian racing team can put this idea out of mind for the time being. On Friday afternoon, McLaren announced that Norris will also defend the colors of the British team in the coming years.
The 24-year-old Briton’s contract, which was to expire after 2025, has therefore been broken and Norris is very pleased that he will remain associated with McLaren for a long time to come. ‘It’s a great feeling to continue driving Papaya. I grew up at McLaren and feel at home here, the team is like family to me,” says Norris on his team’s website. ‘The journey so far has been exciting, we have had ups and downs, but last season we showed how much we want to be at the front again. The work that Zak (Brown, ed.), Andrea (Stella, ed.) and the entire team have put in over the past year has been incredible and I am confident that I can challenge for victory with McLaren.”
Brown and Stella gold plated with extension
Zak Brown made no secret at an earlier stage of the fact that he wanted to keep Norris on board for longer and the American saw his wish come true. ‘I am very happy that we will continue our collaboration with Lando (Norris, ed.) for several years. It has been a fantastic journey over the last six years and he has shown fantastic dedication and drive to take the team forward and bring McLaren back to the top. Last season we saw the fundamental role Lando played with the impressive turnaround in results and I look forward to continuing this journey. Hopefully with many more podium finishes,” said the CEO.
Team boss Andrea Stella is also very happy that Norris will also compete for McLaren in the coming years. “I am pleased to confirm the extension of our partnership with Lando on a multi-year contract beyond 2025. This reflects the confidence we have in each other, with our shared ambition to ultimately win championships again in the future,” said Stella .
