Pay Drivers have always been an integral part of Formula 1. During his early days, this was the case with McLaren’s Lando Norris, who got into Formula 1 with a lot of financial help from his father, Adam Norris. However, upon proving how good a racer Norris was, McLaren had to pay back what Norris’ father once invested.
Adam Norris made his first major investment in his son when he paid for Norris to become a Simulator and a Test driver for McLaren in 2017. The next year, Adam Norris paid for his son to become the official Reserve driver at McLaren. Finally, in 2019, Norris Senior bought his son the second seat at McLaren for an estimated $12,000,000 for three years.
By the end of the 2021 season, Adam Norris had spent over $44,000,000 on his son Norris. This financial backing did not only help Lando Norris make his place in the F1 grid but also helped McLaren, who were struggling with their own finances at that time. However, over the years, Lando Norris proved he was much more than just a pay driver.
Lando Norris overcomes his “Pay Driver” status
With Carlos Sainz moving to Ferrari at the start of the 2021 season, Lando Norris graduated to become the first driver for McLaren. That is when Norris stepped his game up and got the attention of the F1 world. He had his best-ever season in 2021, scoring four podiums and a pole position in the Russian GP.
McLaren was, therefore, desperate to secure his services as rivals with better title prospects started to get interested in him. And Norris signed a contract extension with the Papaya outfit for two years – 2022 and 2023. However, just within nine more months, he signed yet another contract extension with McLaren, this time for his services in 2024 and 2025.
Lando Norris results at the Red Bull Ring
2019 – P6
2020 R1 – P3
2020 R2 – P5
2021 – P3
2022 – P7
2023 – P4Truly generational 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YlGfqxdOsn
— Last lap Lando (@electronicdog45) July 3, 2023
BusinessF1 believes that the second extension was just a way for McLaren to pay back what Adam Norris had invested in Lando. This technically means that Lando Norris is no more a pay driver since McLaren is paying him a retainer to secure his services.
Lando Norris’s future in F1
Norris has emerged to become one of the most highly-rated young drivers on the grid. Many believe that Norris is capable enough to become a future world champion. This has been backed up by the likes of F1 legend Mika Hakkinen who believes that Norris is on the same level as that of reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
However, McLaren has failed to provide Norris with decent machinery to fight for podium places, let alone race wins. A championship fight seems miles away at the moment. When he has had the proper services, Norris has performed very well.
Lando Norris absolutely loves driving at the Austrian Grand Prix 💪 pic.twitter.com/A049N2RE0f
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 2, 2023
McLaren team principal Zak Brown recently made a comment regarding Norris’s stance on the poor performances of McLaren this season. He explained that Norris is definitely frustrated, but so is everyone else on the team. However, Brown believes that Norris is committed to the team long-term because he knows what will come soon.
However, Zak Brown would desperately need to provide Norris with a competitive car if he wanted to retain the young British talent. And with McLaren’s current upgrades to Austria, they are slowly taking steps in the right direction.
