Even if some doubted Lando Norris’s qualities, he had his team’s backing. CEO Zak Brown highlighted this in a recent F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast chat. McLaren had given him the current long-term contract long before the Brit won his first race and even before the driver’s market was forced open. The American boss revealed that when Tom Clarkson pointed out how Norris’s announcement came right before Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton bombshell.
On the YouTube podcast, Brown said, “We actually just announced him, and we’d actually signed him at the end of the year. But we wanted to make the announcement with him back.” He then revealed how the team allows their drivers to disappear after the end-of-the-year party. So, “We didn’t want to do a paper press release. So I think a lot of people went, ‘Oh, just in the nick of time.’ The reality was he’d been signed for a couple of months. We knew we wanted Lando.”
BREAKING: Lando Norris has signed a multi-year contract extension with McLaren, remaining with the team beyond the 2025 season pic.twitter.com/RmQP2qWDyM
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) January 26, 2024
Norris has been with McLaren since his first day in the premier class. He has been periodically awarded for his continued high-level output by the team. So, an extension was never in doubt; it was just announced with a slight delay. Now, the race winner will don the Papaya suit for the foreseeable future with the length of his contract kept ambiguous.
Perhaps for a good reason, so rival teams don’t try to poach McLaren’s future world champion away from them. This is underlined with both drivers locked till at least the end of the 2026 season, which is also one of the things Brown takes pride in.
Zak Brown reveals his biggest proudest moment in Formula 1 as McLaren boss
Starting his managerial role at the Woking-based outfit in 2016, Brown had only faced difficulties, except a few silver linings like the 2021 Italian GP. However, when asked about the proudest moments in his McLaren tenure, the recent turnaround in 2023 was one. While the other was the team securing an incredible driver lineup.
“I think ending up with the driver lineup that we have is something that I’m quite proud about. Especially when you see what’s going on with many other teams—how destabilized some are and the driver movement,” he proudly said. The team has two drivers with championship pedigree; they’re signed on long-term contracts, and everyone gets along very well.
While the entire grid is in a cat-and-mouse race to secure the best lineup for their respective teams, McLaren is focusing on other things. They’ve already won once this season, so unlike their rivals, they can focus all their energy on making it a regular habit.
