Norris: New contract a strong message after rival interest

Lando Norris says his new four-year contract with McLaren sends a strong message, after rival teams showed an interest in signing the British racer.

Norris joined Formula 1 in 2019 with McLaren and signed a fresh deal in 2020 keeping the youngster with the team through 2023, but this new deal extends that though 2025, which Norris says sends a “strong message” to other teams who showed an interest in him.

“I have to weigh in all the factors, it’s still my own career that I am focusing on,” said the 22-year-old. “I looked at all the best options for me and what I think is where I can be most successful and what I think I can achieve the best, but also what I believe is the best for me as a driver, the best for me as a person and in the longer term what is the best thing for me.”

Asked if other teams were in contact, Norris replied: “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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“I 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 with, and that’s all.

“It’s a very strong message. I did weigh in all the factors for my own benefit and what I think could have come up in the next few years with drivers leaving and so on but in the end, McLaren for me was still the best option so that’s why I am most happy to be here and commit to my team.”

No get-out clauses in new deal

Neither party has a get-out clause in the new contract, which is unusual for such a long deal. Drivers, or teams, will often build in performance related clauses which allow them to break free of their contract after so many years, for example if the team struggles competitively, a driver can break the contract to join a rival team.

That’s not the case for Norris or McLaren, with team principal Andreas Seidl confirming that both parties are fully committed to the deal.

“The beauty of this new agreement we have in place is there’s no get-outs on both sides which is simply the important message we wanted to give to the team as well because that shows that we are in this together and that there’s a strong belief from both sides,” he added. “From our side, in the talent Lando is and at the same time from Lando’s side, in believing we can actually get there in these next few years.”