British Formula 1 driver Lando Norris has signed a long-term contract extension with McLaren that’s set to keep him at the team until at least 2025. Norris’s last contract extension was made not even a year ago and it ensured his stay at the team through 2023, but it seems the team has so much faith in him that they’re extending it yet again a year before the first extension is even over.
“The opportunity to extend our relationship with Lando reflects not only our commitment but our belief and confidence in his talent,” said Andreas Seidl, McLaren Team Principal. “It is also a strong sign of trust and commitment from Lando in us as a team and our journey to World Championship contention.”
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And it makes sense why they’d want to keep him. In 2021 the young Briton had his best season of his three-year F1 career thus far, scoring 160 points, getting on the podium four times, nearly getting his first race win in Russia, and finishing sixth overall in the Drivers’ Championship.
That being said, it seems other teams are aware of his potential as well, as Norris supposedly had other offers on the table. “There were little chats here and there but that’s all and nothing went far,” he said. “As soon as something came up, that’s when I would then continue going to Andreas [Seidl] and have a little conversation about what our future holds and so on. There were little things, no point lying about it, there were little things here and there with other teams, but nothing that went far at all.”
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In the end, though, Norris has as much faith in the team as they have in him, and so he decided to stay with McLaren. “I think the fact that it’s known, or the fact I would have had those opportunities but I still chose to stay with McLaren, is the good thing about all of this – that I know those opportunities, or I am confident that those opportunities, would arise in the next few years,” he commented.
“But the fact is, I still have chosen to commit to McLaren, so I think that’s quite a strong message, it’s quite a strong thing that this is still where I want to be, it’s where I want to achieve race wins and podiums and championships, and that’s all.”
Along with teammate Daniel Ricciardo, whose current contract expires in 2023, Norris will be a part of McLaren’s 2022 car reveal on February 11. Called the MCL36, the team hopes the new car will allow them to carry their success from 2021 into this new era of F1 and once again become the top team they once were.
