McLaren CEO Zak Brown asserts that signing Lando Norris to a new contract is the “next priority” for the team in order to ward off the likely advances from rival F1 competitors.
Although he has yet to land a maiden victory in the top flight, Norris has established himself as one of the most complete drivers on the grid and an esteemed team leader.
Despite the side’s struggles early in this regulation cycle, the Briton shunned reported interest from Red Bull at the start of 2022 to pen a three-year extension with McLaren.
Norris was rewarded for his loyalty last year as the Woking squad’s remarkable mid-season turnaround enabled him to log seven podiums to score a career-best 205 points.
However, Norris’ current deal will expire by the time the sport’s technical rules are scheduled to be overhauled in 2026 when several vacancies at top teams could be open by that stage, including both seats at Mercedes and the second position at Red Bull alongside champion Max Verstappen.
Having tied down Oscar Piastri through 2026 last year after an impressive rookie season, Brown was asked whether securing Norris’ long-term future had now become a priority.
“Yeah, I would say next priority”, the American told Speedcafe. “There are a lot of priorities, and certainly with Lando we’ve got some time, but he is a driver that everybody up and down the pit lane wants.
“How much longer is Lewis going? What are Mercedes going to do? How much longer has Sergio [Perez] got?
“For sure, the three other big teams probably don’t have visibility as to their driver line-up beyond ’25.
“And I think with how Lando has performed, he would be top of everyone’s list.”
Pressed on whether a deal could be completed before the driver market ramps up later this year, Brown answered: “Sooner…I think the market is already going.”
Last year McLaren announced that it would continue to run Mercedes engines until the end of 2030, with Brown revealing the British outfit will have “more influence” on the German marque’s new 2026 F1 powertrain.
Brown is confident regarding McLaren’s prospects heading into the sport’s new era and believes that will be a vital selling point when it comes to negotiations with Norris.
“I think we’re in a great place with Lando,” he added. “I think ’26 is a great opportunity for everyone to reset, and there is nothing we don’t have going into ’26 that any of the other teams have.
“He’s very comfortable in the environment with his team-mate.
“I think as you go down and look at who can get it done in ’26, there are four or five teams that you can say can get it done, and we will be one of those.”
Prior to its sensational recovery, McLaren had begun the 2023 campaign struggling to even score points after missing development targets over the winter with its MCL60 car.
Brown concedes that he would have understood if Norris displayed a desire to depart if McLaren had been unable to transform its season in the manner it did.
“If we would have continued on the path that we were on at the start of the year, I wouldn’t have wanted to drive here,” Brown admitted.
