Lando Norris has reaffirmed his commitment to McLaren as the squad looks to recapture the form that took it to world titles in the 1980s and 1990s.
The team is nearing the end of a rebuilding phase with significant new infrastructure coming online in the near future alongside a number of key appointments in senior roles.
Norris joined McLaren in 2017 before being promoted to a race drive the following year alongside Carlos Sainz.
Last February, he signed a new contract that will see him remain in Woking until at least the end of the 2025 season.
Despite that, speculation has linked him to a move away from the Papaya squad, with claims he was in discussions with Ferrari.
“My future, so I’ve got two and a half years with McLaren,” he told Speedcafe.
“I’m still giving everything I can. With all these extra people coming in, I’m also excited for the future in what they can bring.
“I tend not to look at the future, like the far future, too much because the near future is exciting.
“I’m excited about what the possibilities are within, towards the end of the year and then what we can do with what we have now into the winter, and then start with next year.
“Just because the last few years, we’ve entered the new season – although sometimes you’ve got to say it’s a step forward, realistically it’s not been what it should be.
“So I want to be a bit more confident about next year and go ‘yep, got a good car this year’, at least to start, and then we go forward – not like, ‘we’re not ready with this, this is going to come too late’. That’s what it’s been the last few years.”
Norris is the established driver at McLaren alongside Australian rookie Oscar Piastri.
It’s a role he began to move into over the past two seasons as Daniel Ricciardo struggled during his tenure with the team.
Norris admitted enjoys the added responsibility that comes with being the team’s point man, though suggests it’s not something that comes naturally.
“I’ve never been the most confident, outspoken guy,” he admitted.
“I wouldn’t say I ever grew up being that kind of person to lead people and do this and do that. I wouldn’t say like, this is what I do and how you do it in Formula 1.
“But I guess I’ve gained some sort of level of authority and respect – you have it soon as you enter Formula 1 anyway but then it only grows more.
“But I would say it’s quite a conscious thing,” he added.
“Some parts will be subconscious like it just happens over time.”
It’s an important skill set, he reasons, suggesting it makes him a more complete driver.
“If I want to be a better all-round driver, not just a guy who can hop in the car and do well but a guy who can say to a team, and as a team, ‘I think this needs to be better, I think this needs to be better’, and they do the same to you, they’re the guys, I have respect for, the people who tell me when I’m doing a shit job with this, or whatever, attitude’s bad, whatever it is.
“I’m happy that people criticise me,” he added.
“I almost prefer criticism and compliments, and I think we’re at that level… I got to that level with the team, that we were both able to criticise and compliment each other in the most beneficial way.
“Once you reach that certain level, of course, committing to a team for what, four years at the time, that certainly adds like ‘he’s motivated to help the team reach this’, you know, and that just always adds a level of respect and honesty from everyone back at McLaren to what can we get him to do the best in our car?
“When you put all these little factors together, I think it’s a conscious thing because I can easily just sit here and not necessarily care about what happens and just drive the car that I get given, but I choose to do more to push the team to do a better job.”
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