McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has quietened any suggestions that Lando Norris could leave the Woking-based team at the end of 2025, with the American believing that the Brit wants to “win the world championship with us”.
In his four years driving for McLaren, Norris has been exceptional for the British team and has quickly become a leading driver in the sport, something that brings with it additional attention.
The British driver has led the side superbly and is often found in the ‘best of the rest’ spot, highlighting his superiority over his fellow midfield drivers.
Norris has proven countless times, though, that he’s more than capable of competing with the frontrunners, something he typically does whenever the car is competitive enough.
READ: Christian Horner pours water on Logan Sargeant’s chances of increasing US interest
The 23-year-old was the only midfield driver to claim a podium last season, whilst he remarkably claimed four podiums and a pole position in 2021.
Very few drivers have ever accomplished what Norris has in a midfield side, raising the question of what he’d be capable of if he drove for one of the top three teams.
With his contract set to expire at the end of 2025, that question may get answered, with the expectation being amongst many that he will receive offers from elsewhere.
Whether he’d accept an offer from a frontrunning team or not remains to be seen, with the likelihood being that it’ll depend on the position that McLaren find themselves in come the start of the new engine regulations in 2026.
Should McLaren be able to promise Norris a car capable of winning races, then the Brit might be tempted to stay, given the goal the duo share.
But if McLaren are likely to enter the new engine regulations as a midfield team once again, then Norris would have every right to accept an offer from higher up, given the possibilities it would open up.
Red Bull have already expressed interest in Norris in the past and will likely do so again in the future, perhaps when Sergio Pérez moves on from the Austrians.
Former Ferrari team manager Peter Windsor has also suggested that Ferrari should consider Norris should Mercedes sign Charles Leclerc to replace Lewis Hamilton once he retires.
Mercedes too, could be an option for Norris, should the Silver Arrows want to continue with an all-British driver line-up.
Should he be beaten by Oscar Piastri this season, though, then Norris’ future could look very different, with the Aussie set to be the fastest team-mate that the Brit has had to deal with.
Regardless of what happens, Brown is hopeful that Norris will remain with the side and believes that the duo have “got time” together to “win the world championship”.
“At the end of the day, he does want to win the world championship,” Brown told Sky Sports.
READ: Mario Andretti fires back at Stefano Domenicali’s comments
“So do we, we’re on this journey together so I know there’s some noise around but he knows what the game plan is.
“For sure, we all want to be winning races and competing for the championship in the not too distant future and so as long as we do that, I’m sure we’ll be racing together for a long time.
“I think we want to finish the story that we’ve started, which is coming to Formula 1 and win the world championship with us. So we’ve got time.”