Lewis Hamilton plays role in Lando Norris’ future as McLaren plan crucial talks

McLaren driver Lando Norris has been consistently linked with a move away.

The future of Lando Norris at McLaren is set to hinge on whether Lewis Hamilton remains at Mercedes when his new two-year deal expires. But McLaren hope to get Norris to sign a new contract regardless. After months of speculation, the seven-time world champion finally put pen-to-paper last August and will remain with the Silver Arrows until the end of 2025.

Hamilton will have approached his 41st birthday by then, though he hasn’t yet made it clear how long he plans to stay in Formula One. He’s still one title away from an unprecedented eight world championships following the contentious finale that dogged the 2021 campaign, which is largely thought to be the driving force behind his resolve to persevere.

But the expiration of his current deal coincides with when Norris, 24, is set to be out of contract with McLaren. The Briton signed his current terms two years ago, citing his desire to win a world title with McLaren, who were expected to challenge strongly in F1’s new era of regulations.

However, neither of those notions have materialised. Norris was sixth in the drivers’ standings in 2023, up one place from the previous year, and is still waiting for his first Grand Prix win after 104 race starts.

Norris has long been linked with a future move to Mercedes or Red Bull, and now McLaren CEO Zak Brown has stated his intentions to tie up a new deal imminently: “Yeah, I would say next priority,” said Brown, via the Mirror.

“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 [at Red Bull]?

“Undoubtedly, it’s unlikely that the three other major teams are aware of their driver lineup past ’25. And given his performance, I believe Lando would be at the top of everyone’s list.

If an offer is made, Brown has repeatedly said that he will not be giving Norris an early release from his current contract. Additionally, coach Andrea Stella thinks that once his man is able to take the top spot on the podium, he will succeed.

“If we take a look at the numbers from Austria on, Lando is the second highest scorer behind Max [Verstappen)” he said. “This reflects the quality of the driving, the delivery he is capable of, which puts him at the top of the grid.

“The most significant victory is always the first one, after which things get a little easier. This hasn’t been possible primarily because we haven’t placed Lando in a position where he can consistently contend for the win. He is prepared for that; what matters is that we deliver the car on time so he can seize the chance.”