Norris signed a reported £80 million (AUS $154m) contract extension in February 2022 that tied him to the team through to the end of the 2025 season.
Beyond that is currently open to speculation, in particular as 2026 ushers in the start of a new power unit era that will additionally define new bodywork, and potentially reshuffle the pack.
At present, Red Bull is dominating F1 and is poised to do so for the next two seasons until ’26 when it begins a new era of its own with the development of its first engine.
It would be easy for Norris to be swayed by Red Bull’s performance at present and form a formidable driver alliance with good friend and three-time champion Max Verstappen.
Brown believes, however, he can convince Norris to remain at McLaren, a team seemingly on the rise after its superb campaign from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards last year when the British driver was second only to Verstappen in terms of points scored.
Additional hardware building blocks are also now in place with a simulator and its own wind tunnel, whilst manpower continues to be added under the highly effective leadership of team principal Andrea Stella.
Addressing whether Norris could be lured to Red Bull from 2026, speaking to selected media recently, including Speedcafe, Brown said: “I have a belief, whether it’s employees, drivers, sponsors, that it’s our job to take care of them, and for them to want to be at McLaren.
“So I tend to focus on making sure McLaren has the best environment and people that want to be with us because you ultimately can’t control external approaches to those various people.
“I’m very confident in the relationship that we have with Lando. I know he’s very excited for this year and was very impressed with what he saw over the second half of last year.
“He loves working with Andrea and everyone on the team, so all we need to keep doing is giving him the environment he wants to be in, and I’m confident he’ll stick around as opposed to trying to kind of sell against the competition. That’s never been my way.”
Brown has made a habit over the years of reacting far in advance of a driver’s contract expiring.
The Norris deal two years ago was agreed despite the 24-year-old only signing a multi-year agreement nine months earlier in May 2021, whilst in September last year, Brown secured Oscar Piastri through to the end of 2026, extending his initial rookie contract by two years.
Brown has no doubt Norris and Piastri are the future for his team, and he is prepared to move swiftly again to stave off any potential poaching threat from rivals, with talks ongoing.
“I feel my primary role is to get the right people in place, give them the right resources in support of Andrea and the entire team,” said Brown.
“Of course, when you’re building a team that has desires to get back to winning a world championship, you need the management, the technology, the infrastructure, and of course, you need the two drivers, and I think we have all of those in place.
“We have Lando under contract for another couple of years.
“Of course, we’re in dialogue with him continuously as he’s starting to think through – as we are as we’re very focused – to obviously the short term, but also ’26 is not far away.
“We recognise that being able to retain Lando and Oscar for the foreseeable future is definitely a key element and something that is a high priority for us.”
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