McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown is more than aware that they’ll have to fend off “three other big teams” to keep Lando Norris beyond his current contract, which expires at the end of 2025.
Norris is a rumoured target for Red Bull, Ferrari and even Mercedes, for when seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton eventually retires.
Given Norris’ exemplary 2023 campaign, it should come as no shock to Brown that he’s wanted by all of the leading teams.
Norris finished sixth in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship and claimed seven podiums overall, less than only Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso.
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Had McLaren’s season not really started until the Austrian Grand Prix, then this tally would’ve likely surpassed at least 10.
The Woking-based team had a dreadful start to the recently completed season due to introducing a poor package, which required significant upgrading.
A huge upgrade was introduced at the Red Bull Ring, revolutionising the MCL60 and allowing Norris and Oscar Piastri to fight for rostrums.
If McLaren had started 2023 with the car they had at the Austrian GP, then Norris would’ve likely beaten Perez to second in the Drivers’ Championship given just how fast he was.
As a result of his immense pace, he’s on the radar of all the leading teams.
Norris has been linked to Red Bull for several years and is believed to be a contender for 2026, when the new power unit regulations are introduced.
Red Bull will likely have a seat available in 2026, as Sergio Perez’s deal expires at the end of 2024.
It means they could offer the likes of Daniel Ricciardo a one-year deal, to get them through 2025.
As for Ferrari, it’s been reported that the Italians want to offer Carlos Sainz a one-year extension only for 2025, so that they can tempt Norris to move to Maranello for 2026.
And then there is Mercedes, who will arguably want one of the leading drivers to replace Hamilton when he eventually calls it a day.
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Brown recognises everybody wants the 24-year-old and that he’s likely on “top of everyone’s list”.
“He’s a driver that everybody up and down pitlane wants,” Brown admitted to The Race.
“How much longer is Lewis going? What’s Mercedes going to do? How much longer is Sergio going? For sure, I think the three other big teams probably don’t have visibility as to their driver line-up beyond ’25. And I think with how Lando’s performed, he would be top of everyone’s list.”