McLaren as a team is in a very difficult state at the moment. After showing signs of huge progress in 2020 and 2021, they took a step backward in 2022, moving down in the terms of performance. For Lando Norris in particular, the entire experience has been very frustrating.
Norris is one of the biggest talents in F1 and is considered by many to be a future world champion. For a driver of his caliber, scrambling for points is not the place one wants to be. As a result, rumors of Norris looking to move away from McLaren have grown stronger over the last few months.
In 2022, he penned an $80 million contract extension until 2025 but some reports have suggested that Norris has an exit clause in the deal. These reports suggested that if McLaren doesn’t pick up on performance in the coming months, Norris will look to buy himself out of the contract. However, McLaren CEO Zak Brown insists that Norris won’t be able to do so.
Why can’t Lando Norris exit McLaren before 2025?
Even though there were talks about Norris forcing a buyout from his $80 million deal, Brown says that it isn’t possible. This is because there is no exit clause involved in the 23-year-old’s contract.
On top of that, Brown dismissed rumors about Norris wanting to leave McLaren altogether. According to the American, Norris is happy with the progress shown by the Woking-based outfit and is committed to their long-term development and success.
“He is along for the journey,” Brown said to Sky Sports. “And we have got some time to prove to him that we are going to give him a car capable of winning. So, even contracts aside. It is about time that he is in a happy environment.”
Norris sure about winning races with McLaren
As of today, Norris has six podium finishes with McLaren but is yet to win a race. Considering McLaren’s underwhelming start to the 2023 season, it is unlikely that he will change that stat this year. However, the Bristol-born driver is adamant that he will end up winning races with McLaren.
In an interview with Lissie Mackintosh, Norris speaks about his loyalty to McLaren and how he believes in the team’s progress, despite the constant frustration. He acknowledges that things don’t look good at the moment, but he is loyal to McLaren because it is the team that helped him land on his feet in F1.
“I have faith still,” Norris said. “That McLaren can win and we will win. That I will win.”
Norris scored his first points of the 2023 season when he crossed the flag in P6 at the third round in Australia two weeks ago. The Briton will be looking to continue the strong momentum into the fourth round in Baku.
