Brown concerned by F1 rivals targeting Norris
F1 News
- GPblog.com
After 2024, many drivers' contracts expire. This means 'silly season' will be busy next season. However, the contracts of Norris, Hamilton and Russell expire after 2025. McLaren CEO Zak Brown would like to keep Norris at McLaren after that too.
McLaren started the 2023 season with little success. The team didn't score many points, and podiums were all but non-existent until the British Grand Prix. The team then managed to change course and consistently scored points and podiums.
Extending Lando Norris' contract is priority
Because of this turnaround, McLaren CEO Zak Brown is confident that he can start extending Lando Norris' contract. The Brit's contract still runs until 2025. Extending this contract is a priority for the team, as several contracts will then expire at major teams.
There is a lot of interest in Norris. Both Mercedes and Red Bull could be interested in bringing in the young Briton. After extending Oscar Piastri's contract until 2026, Norris is the next priority. Brown indicated this to Speedcafe. "There are a lot of priorities, and certainly with Lando we've got some time, but he is a driver that everybody up and down the pit lane wants. How much longer is Lewis going? What are Mercedes going to do? How much longer has Sergio (Perez) got? For sure, the three other big teams probably don't have visibility as to their driver line-up beyond '25. And I think with how Lando has performed, he would be top of everyone's list," Brown said.