Lando Norris is now “very confident” that he made the right decision last year in signing a contract extension with McLaren, keeping him at the side until at least the end of 2025.
Norris agreed to race for the team for an additional three seasons at the start of 2022, despite reported interest from the likes of Red Bull.
However, the Woking-based team’s form dropped considerably not long after he signed the deal, something which had Norris thinking whether it was time to “look at something different”.
Since introducing a big upgrades package at the Austrian Grand Prix though, things have improved massively for Norris and the British team.
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At three of the last four races, McLaren found themselves in the top three in the pecking order.
They were remarkably second in the pecking order at both Silverstone and the Hungaroring, where Norris finished in a stunning second place.
Only Red Bull were superior to McLaren at those to venues, whilst Norris did actually briefly lead the British Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri even briefly led the recent sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix, where McLaren showed good pace in the wet.
They struggled somewhat in the dry conditions at Spa-Francorchamps, where Norris could only salvage seventh.
More updates are still expected at McLaren in the second half of this season, with the side being viewed as many as Red Bull’s biggest threat based on the huge step forwards they’ve already taken.
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The improved performance has certainly filled Norris with belief that his goals with the team can be achieved “in the future”, in their remaining three seasons together.
“In the back of my mind, there’s that impatient game of, ‘do I stick it out for another few years, or is it time to look at something different?'” Norris said.
“But the more we achieve things as we have done over the past few weeks, the more I’m very confident with the decision I made to stay until 2025, and the more confident I am that we can achieve our goals together in the future.”