McLaren CEO Zak Brown is confident he can convince Lando Norris to sign a new F1 deal with the team this year following the about-turn in on-track performance.
Norris surprised many in the F1 paddock when, in May 2022, he committed himself to McLaren through to the end of 2025.
It was a coup by McLaren at the time, particularly with the number of drivers out of contract at the end of this year, which could have paved the way for the Briton to be poached by a rival.
Brown recognises he has time on his side, but is prepared to move swiftly again, particularly as Mercedes will be in the market for a change of driver in 2026 as new deals signed last year by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell also run to the end of 2025.
After tying Oscar Piastri to a new contract last year through to 2026, asked whether locking down Norris was a priority, Brown replied: “Yeah, I would say next priority.
“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.”
As to whether a deal could be done before the market explodes this year, Brown said: “Sooner…I think the market is already going.”
Regarding his confidence in selling to Norris McLaren’s vision from 2026 when new power unit regulations will again likely change the landscape, compared to the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes, he said: “I think we’re in a great place with Lando.
“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.”
Brown, however, appreciates that but for McLaren’s stunning revival last season under team principal Andrea Stella then it may have been a different story with Norris.
After a dismal start to the year, forecast by the team given it was behind in its development of the MCL60, McLaren then delivered from the Austrian Grand Prix via a raft of upgrades, and again in Singapore.
From the race at Spielberg onwards, Norris went on to score more points than any other driver bar champion Max Verstappen.
Believing that part of the campaign will prove instrumental when he commences new contract talks with Norris, Brown said: “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.”
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