The day after Charles Leclerc extended his contract with Ferrari, Lando Norris extended his with McLaren. The exact length on the contract was not specified but it will see him through “beyond the 2025 season”. In other words, he’ll be with the team through the new rules changes in 2026.
There has been speculation that Norris was looking elsewhere for 2025 and beyond. Last summer there was talk that he was talking with Ferrari about a seat and later there was talk that Red Bull wanted to pair him with Max Verstappen. All of that has been put to rest now that McLaren has extended both their drivers for at least the next three seasons.
Like with Leclerc, Norris extending with McLaren makes sense on many levels. He has been with the team since 2019 and acquitted himself well during that time. Many regard Norris as a future star and his driving performances have been notable. He was able to get more out of the car when driving alongside Daniel Ricciardo, who is a formidable talent in his own right. Also, think back a few years when he put in some amazing qualifying and race performances when Mercedes was dominating. Norris just needs a better car and a few breaks to start winning then possibly contending for Championships.
It also indicates that there are either no other competitive seats available in the near-term. The only top team that might have an open seat after next year is Red Bull Racing and they are likely to put either Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda in that slot. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko may have been interested in signing Lando Norris but reckoned team harmony would be more important than creating a dream team. After all, they had experience with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the recent past so they don’t want a repeat of that.
Lando’s extension also is a signal of intent by McLaren. Zak Brown is putting all the pieces together to compete with Red Bull in the coming years. They signed Oscar Piastri, who has turned out to be a formidable driver with impressive skills. The team is also gaining sponsors on a regular basis, which has put the team on solid financial footing. Plus, all of the people they have hired over the past few years are beginning to have an impact. Andrea Stella is also doing a great job at getting everybody to work together well. As last season showed, it’s yielding results too.
McLaren ended the 2023 as the second fastest car in most races. They were especially strong at both COTA and Interlagos, Verstappen had to work hard to earn those two victories. Plus, the team has momentum. Even though both Mercedes and Ferrari finished ahead of them in the Constructors standings; McLaren was seen as a team on the rise and the most likely candidate to challenge Red Bull Racing in 2024. Given their history and heritage, I think it’s only a matter of time before they turn all of their potential into results.
Lando Norris likely realizes this and opted to remain with them. He was with the team during their post-Honda rebuilding phase, including the incredibly challenging 2020 season. After all that hard work and commitment, he wants to enjoy the fruits of upcoming success. He knows the team, they know him, and both are committed to working together. This is a good place for a driver to be in mentally as well, it means Lando can focus on making those last incremental improvements he needs to make to become a winner.
It’s in him too. Like George Russell and to a lesser extent Alex Albon, Lando Norris has toiled in the back half of the grid for the last few years. Now that he’s able to run at the front, he is showing that he has the perseverance and character needed to see a transformation through. He’s won a pole position and secured six fastest laps, he’s been on the podium over a dozen times too. Right now, climbing to the top step is closer than ever and McLaren is able to give him the tools to take that last step.
The larger impact to the drivers market is that McLaren is going to be closed off for the next few seasons. This mirrors the situation at Mercedes as well. Red Bull Racing is likely to bring somebody into the second seat from “within the family” to race alongside Max Verstappen. Ferrari just extended Charles Leclerc as well, meaning most of the top seats are spoken for. So we’ll see fairly stable driver lineups for the next few seasons as team opt for continuity going into the 2026 season. While it may not make for much drama or tension, such an approach makes sense for teams who reckon they have solid lineups.
In many ways, it looks like the “silly season” has preceded the actual season once again. Maybe by the time we get to mid-summer, the silly season may be done and the driver/team lineups set for 2025. Time will tell but with all the signings going on on both the technical and driver fronts, it may well be the case.
