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For all the talk of a potential move to Red Bull in the future and partnering with close friend Max Verstappen – some of which Norris helped fuel – ultimately he could not leave a team that has nurtured him since he was a teenager.
Even though Norris had two years remaining on a lucrative contract through to the end of 2025, the 24-year-old has put pen to paper on another extended agreement that will see him remain with McLaren for “multiple years”, according to CEO Zak Brown.
For the first time since Norris joined the team in 2019, McLaren has opted not to divulge the details of a deal that is likely to contain a break clause that would allow him to assess its performance after the introduction of the new power unit regulations in 2026 that could again alter the racing landscape in F1.
Norris, though, is utterly convinced McLaren is the team that can help him fulfill his dream of becoming an F1 champion, even though after 104 grands prix, he has yet to stand on top of the podium.
A move to Red Bull it seems, one he said he was “open to” in September, is on the back burner for a few years at least as he now remains focused on continuing the McLaren rebuild after a 2023 campaign in which he and the team went from zeroes to heroes in the space of a few months.
Despite Red Bull’s current dominance of F1, in particular with Verstappen who has won the last three world titles, as well as 34 of the last 44 grands prix over the last two seasons, Norris insists he saw nothing in looking at the other teams to convince him that moving to a rival was a good idea.
Asked by Speedcafe, in a selected media session to discuss his new contract, whether everything was now in place for him to be a champion with McLaren, he replied: “I’m convinced, as a team, we have everything we need to achieve that goal. It’s the team’s goal, and also a personal goal that I’ve always had.
“Am I convinced I’m capable of doing it? Yes. And am I convinced the team is capable of doing it? Yes.
“And I don’t think it’s just last year, and how we turned things around. I don’t think that’s the only thing that has convinced me further.
“It’s just everything that goes on day to day, the people that are here, the work ethic, the mentality, the approach to everything.
“And you also know what other teams are doing, how they’re looking and feeling, and what their potential is at the same time with the drivers they have, the people, and so on, and nothing was convincing me to even have a proper look at another team.”
Norris’ rise into F1 was exemplary as he was MSA champion in 2015, Toyota Racing Series champion the year after before winning the F3 title in 2017, the year he signed with McLaren as a junior driver.
Despite missing out on the F2 title to George Russell in 2018, McLaren had seen enough to convince them he was the future of the team, forming an all-new line-up with Carlos Sainz after Fernando Alonso opted to retire and Stoffel Vandoorne was released following a disappointing season.
Norris has since stood by McLaren, and they with him, as Sainz departed for Ferrari after two seasons, whilst Daniel Ricciardo was axed after two desperate years in which he failed to gel with the car, bar a remarkable win in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix in which Norris was second.
After a difficult 18 months following the introduction of new aerodynamic regulations at the start of 2022, the team finally found performance and form under the leadership of Andrea Stella.
With a new wind tunnel that went online last year, as well as a new simulator, and with new technical leadership hires in Rob Marshall from Red Bull and David Sanchez from Ferrari, Norris is assured by the team’s direction and its prospects.
“The atmosphere, the mentality, the camaraderie we have here has built up a lot over the years, and I very much enjoy being a part of all of that,” said Norris.
“I want to be part of this story of turning things around, going from the beginning of my career and struggling, going through those ups and downs, and sticking with the team.
“I also want to enjoy it. That’s a big factor for me. As much as I do want to be in a team that’s the quickest, there’s also that element of being here because I love racing, I love to have fun and enjoy all of that.
“For me, that’s my number one thing at the end of the day, I’m doing what I love, and I want to be with a team that I love and I enjoy every moment with, and that’s McLaren.
“When you factor these things together, when you factor the improvements we have made…and just walking around the factory over the last few days and seeing how, not just excited, but just how motivated and how passionate everyone is, it’s definitely a new level from where we’ve been.
“Work ethic and people are what are needed to convince me as well. Of course results, but the people we have, the family feeling we all have, and the push everyone’s doing, are also the next things I need.
“So when I put those three things together, along with me just being part of the family and enjoying my life that I live, it made it quite an easy decision.”
It is clear there is an emotional attachment for Norris with McLaren that goes beyond many driver-team relationships of the past.
Naturally, given the rollercoaster ride he has endured, he has had doubts. He is only human after all. But they have always been dispelled.
“When I started racing, when I was seven or eight years old, I wasn’t thinking, ‘I really want to be a world champion’,” said Norris. “I just did it because I loved it, and I enjoyed it more than anything else. This is where I feel most natural and free, and I still have that.
“That’s still a big part of what I do. It’s because I want to go out and have fun, and do what I love to do more than anything else.
“But I also have that side of ‘I want to win and I want to be a world champion’. That’s still a goal for me, and I always have these things in the back of my mind when I’m making these (contract) decisions.
“Of course, over the last few years, there’s been a lot of tough times, but I still enjoy it. I’ve always enjoyed being part of where I am and working with the people that I’ve worked with.
“But now and then, you’re going to have that little question of ‘Is this the place to be to achieve that next goal that I want, which is to be the world champion?’
“So, in the back of my head (were questions like), ‘Are we improving as much as I feel like we should? Am I giving myself the best opportunities?’ and so forth.
“That’s always been those little discussions that I’ve had with my team and things like that.”
Last season’s turnaround was not the be-all and end-all, but it did play a part.
From being lost toward the back of the grid in the early stages due to a delay in the development of the MCL60, from the Austrian Grand Prix onward, Norris scored more points than any other driver bar Verstappen as major upgrades delivered for the race at Spielberg and again in Singapore proved game-changing.
Understandably, if McLaren had continued to struggle, it is unlikely Norris would have been so eager to commit himself to the team again.
Now, though, he only sees one way forward to achieving his ambition.
“With how we turned things around, how Andrea turned things around last year, and how the whole environment is here at McLaren currently, that’s a big thing that swings in the direction of McLaren,” assessed Norris.
“It is also results-led. If we didn’t score podiums, after as bad a start as we had last year, then there are going to be more questions, and I’ll get to (20)25 and I’ll see what happens.
“But with how things went, with what I believe we have coming, and the confidence I have in the whole team over the next few years, going into a refresh in ’26, where so many things change, there are not many other things you can be guaranteed of, or assured of with any team.
“At the same time, it comes back to where I will be happiest, and where am I most confident I can achieve a world championship.
“If you’d asked me at the beginning of last year, maybe it wouldn’t have been McLaren, but now I’m more confident than ever in saying it’s going to be McLaren.”
