Lando Norris locks in his long-term F1 future at McLaren with contract extension to at least 2030
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LONDON (AP) — Defending world champion Lando Norris has extended his contract with McLaren until at least the end of 2030, the F1 team said Saturday.
McLaren said the new deal features “a multi-year option to commit beyond that date.”
Financial terms were not announced. The Press Association news agency said the British driver’s new contract could be worth up to $35 million a year.
The 26-year-old Norris secured McLaren’s first drivers’ title last year since Lewis Hamilton won his first championship in 2008.
“McLaren is my home, and I’m very pleased to be signing a new contract to keep me with the team until at least 2030,” Norris said.
“When I started this journey nine years ago, I was clear about the goals I wanted to achieve: to get McLaren back to the front and to win championships. We’ve achieved that goal, but we want more; we want to keep on winning, and we know as a team that we’re capable of achieving it.”
The announcement came just over a week after his rival for the last two titles, Max Verstappen, similarly committed to 2030 with Red Bull.
These are very long contracts by F1 standards. Racing with McLaren into 2030 would mark 12 seasons for Norris with the team since his debut in 2019. That would match the current F1 record of Lewis Hamilton’s 12 seasons with Mercedes for the most by a driver with the same team, though Verstappen’s contract puts him on course to break that.
Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix on Aug. 23 after his victory in Hungary before the midseason break. He is currently fourth in the standings, trailing leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes by 83 points. Ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, the back-to-back wins reignited talk of a successful title defense but Norris said he doesn’t yet have a car capable of vying for the championship.
“I know I’ve just won two races in a row and had two poles in a row, but at the minute I don’t have the car I need to fight for a championship,” Norris said. He added that the right changes to target McLaren’s troubles in slow-speed corners could set him up to chase down Antonelli.
Norris has raced in 163 Grands Prix for McLaren, more than any other driver in the team’s history, securing 18 pole positions, 48 podiums, and 13 wins.
“He is an exceptional driver, someone who combines outstanding natural speed with maturity, consistency and a strong commitment to McLaren, but above all, he is a special human being who is valued by everyone in the team,” said Andrea Stella, the McLaren team principal.
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See AP’s full auto racing coverage here