Apart from Max Verstappen, Lando Norris was one driver who impressed the grid the most with several outstanding performances in 2023. The British driver was fantastic as he finished the season with 205 points and seven podiums despite having a poor start to his campaign. His performance was so notable that some top teams were also interested in signing him. While Norris decided to commit his future to McLaren by extending his contract, he did acknowledge that some teams did approach him.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Norris said, “I mean there’s always discussions every now and then. I’m not gonna lie and say no. You talk to people and see you know what could you offer kind of thing but it never went further than that”.
One of the teams that were rumored to have an interest in him were Red Bull. Norris addressed the same in his recent interview and explained why he had no interest in joining the Milton Keynes-based team.
Moreover, it is pertinent to note that Norris was already committed to McLaren till the end of the 2025 season. The new extension will now see him stay at Woking even beyond 2025.
Norris decided to extend his contract even further because he wanted to put all speculations about his future to rest. However, that is not to say that Norris was never interested in becoming Max Verstappen’s teammate.
Lando Norris once wanted to pair up with Max Verstappen
Back in 2023, Lando Norris shared his interest in having Max Verstappen on the same team. The Briton never got the chance to race with the Dutchman in the younger categories due to age and category restrictions.
Norris always raced in a lower category than Verstappen since he is younger. However, the chance came in 2019 when the McLaren star debuted in F1.
From there, the two have become great friends now and often race hard against each other. Therefore, the 24-year-old shared that he would love to race against Verstappen on the team.
BREAKING: Lando Norris extends his deal with McLaren! ✍️#F1 @McLarenF1 @LandoNorris pic.twitter.com/TgoqPV5C1t
— Formula 1 (@F1) January 26, 2024
This could also be one of the reasons why McLaren were keen to sign a long-term contract with Norris. As for the 24-year-old, he himself was perhaps keen to commit his future to McLaren after the team had an impressive second half of the season in 2023.
McLaren emerged as the second-fastest in the latter half of the season after starting the campaign at the back of the grid. Moreover, going into the 2024 season, the team has also had a massive overhaul. The incoming employees could help rebuild the team and build a car that is capable of fighting for wins in 2024.
