Lando Norris had an outstanding 2021 campaign as he finished sixth in the Drivers’ Championship with 160 points. The Briton outscored more experienced McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo by 45 points that year. Despite performing better than the Australian, who was a seven-time Grand Prix winner at the time, Norris revealed he felt ashamed to start his contract negotiations with McLaren which were reportedly worth $7.6 million.
Norris interestingly compared having such discussions to that of speaking to a girl for the first time. As revealed in his biography, Norris said at the time,
“I don’t know when or how to bring it (contract negotiations) up. Just like a guy talking to a girl for the first time, so it was a bit awkward because I’ve not been in that position before“.
Lando Norris biography pic.twitter.com/Bnuwbd8OkA
— Business F1 (@BusinessF158116) January 6, 2024
Before Norris signed his contract extension in 2021, he had already completed two full seasons with McLaren. In 2019, he finished eleventh in the championship and scored 49 points. A season later, he finished ninth in the championship and increased his points tally to 97.
2020 was indeed a pivotal season for Norris as he finished just eight points behind more experienced McLaren teammate Carlos Sainz. It is possible that his performances that season would have helped him sign a new $7.6 million worth deal with McLaren in 2021.
However, it is pertinent to note that the financial aspect is not the only reason why Norris wanted a new contract. He revealed that the power struggle that arose with Daniel Ricciardo joining him in 2021 was the real reason for him wanting a more lucrative deal.
Lando Norris felt intimidated by Daniel Ricciardo
In the same biography, Lando Norris revealed that he felt intimidated when he first got to know that Ricciardo was coming to McLaren in 2021. Sefton, who previously worked as McLaren’s Head of Communications during the arrival of Ricciardo, revealed what Norris thought of the move.
Sefton revealed that Norris felt afraid as he would now be partnered by a driver who had already won seven races. Since the Australian had so much experience before joining McLaren, many believed that he would be the senior driver of the team.
However, Norris did not want that to be the case. The Briton believed that he had already been with the Woking-based outfit for a while, both as a reserve and a full-time driver, and hence, he was adamant that he should be the senior driver in the team. He also discussed about the same in his biography.
“I want to be that kind of guy who can lead the team, who has been there for many years, who has helped them in bad times and who has helped them achieve the good times and that’s why I’m still here. That’s why I signed for some more years because I want to be in that position,” revealed Norris.
As it so happened, Norris’ prophecy came true. In his very first season as teammates with Ricciardo, Norris made sure that he laid down a marker. The Briton finished the season in sixth place with 160 points, 45 points ahead of Ricciardo.
Norris’ stellar form also continued in 2022. In that year, he finished seventh in the championship with 122 points and beat Ricciardo by a whopping 85 points. Such performances from Norris were more than enough to convince McLaren that he was capable of taking the role of senior driver all by himself.
