How long can McLaren keep Lando Norris?

Lando Norris climbed to the podium seven times this year, starting with the British Grand Prix, finishing most of the way in second and ending the season in sixth place in the individual standings, just one point behind Charles Leclerc, who completed the top five.

The 24-year-old McLaren driver has a very enviable reputation in the paddock. Not only has his racing talent long been recognized by all, but Lando’s ability to squeeze everything out of the car he is capable of, and sometimes even more, is impressive.

Norris has 104 starts in Formula 1, but no victories yet. When McLaren team boss Andrea Stella was asked if this could have an impact on his driver’s attitude, he said: “The diplomatic answer to this question is: no, I don’t think it has any effect on him. But I will refrain from this and say that all riders want to win.

I am more willing to accept that we have not yet created the necessary conditions for Lando, and in this respect neither he nor we are completely comfortable. I am willing to agree with this and to continue to do everything in our power to make victories possible, and not to pretend that none of this plays any role.

We are here to win races. I wouldn’t want to work with a rider who doesn’t have that drive. And if this makes everyone uncomfortable, we must make it an additional factor that motivates us to create the conditions for victories.”

Lando probably believes that in fact he should already achieve at least one victory, but at the same time he still does not doubt himself and his abilities and remains patient: everything will still happen. The question is when?

In 2023, Norris achieved 205 points and this is his best season in Formula 1, which does not mean that he was always satisfied with his performance. He is characterized by a self-critical attitude, he is ready to admit his mistakes – for example, this was the case in Qatar, where it seemed as if the McLaren car allowed him to fight for pole, but Lando started only 10th, this was it case in Mexico City, where he dropped out of contention after the first qualifying session. This was the case in the season finale, where he said he missed pole due to his own mistake.

But in most cases, such mistakes rather indicate that the driver is trying to exceed the real capabilities of the car, which still prevents him from fighting for pole positions and victories. In short: the McLaren MCL60 is not the Red Bull RB19.

The team still hopes that they can build a fast and efficient car that will allow them to not only challenge for Grand Prix victories, but also claim the title. Therefore, McLaren is keen to sign Norris to a new long-term contract as his current agreement with the team expires in 2025. For example, the contract with Oscar Piastri has already been extended until 2026.

The team is well aware that rivals, including Red Bull, are showing serious interest in Norris. They say the championship team has approached him more than once, but he has always declined, believing his place is at McLaren for the time being.

In fact, the entire team works for him and he has an excellent relationship with management. If he moves somewhere else, he will have to start everything from scratch in a new place, and at the same time his opponent will probably be one of the strongest drivers in the championship. But how long will he refuse tempting offers?

A vacancy could become available at Red Bull Racing in a year’s time, and there is also the possibility that a position will become available at Ferrari at the end of 2024, and at Mercedes a year later.

However, if McLaren continues to progress next season at the same pace as in the second half of the final, then Norris and Piastri can be confident that they will indeed soon have a car with which they can challenge for the title.

The Woking team has formed a new technical department structure. In January, highly qualified specialists such as Rob Marshall, who joined from Red Bull, and David Sanchez, who previously worked at Ferrari, will take on their duties.

McLaren has extended the contract with Mercedes for the supply of engines until 2030, which guarantees stability, and the team, together with Brixworth motorists, will be able to solve the problem of integrating engines into the chassis even more effectively – this is especially important during the transition to new technical regulations, which will happen in 2026 -m. In addition, a new wind tunnel has been launched at the McLaren base, where the 2024 model of the car is already being blown.

According to the information available on the official website of the championship, these are all arguments in favor of the version that the time will come, and we will hear the news that Lando Norris will remain at McLaren.