Lando Norris signs new McLaren contract to 2025 | GRR

It’s not difficult to understand why the team would want to lock Lando in. The 2017 European F3 winner and runner-up in the 2018 F2 championship served as reserved driver for McLaren in both years before graduating to a race seat in 2019. Having finished in 11^th place in the championship, five places behind team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr., Norris started 2020 strong with a third place in Austria and only finished outside of the points in four out of 17 races. He had a stronger season in 2021, achieving four podiums, his first pole position and coming agonisingly close to winning his first race, twice. He also convincingly beat team-mate and multiple race-winner Daniel Ricciardo.

“Teams are about people, and I love the people and feel at home at McLaren,” said Norris. “I have grown up in this team and I’m part of this journey we’re all on. Last season was another great step, both in my career and the team’s performance, and I see and feel all the work, investment, and commitment for the team to be in a position to challenge for wins and titles in the future. This all gives me huge confidence looking forward, so it was a natural decision to extend our relationship for the next few years.”

Andreas Seidl, McLaren F1 Team Principal, said: “The opportunity to extend our relationship with Lando reflects not only our commitment but our belief and confidence in his talent. It is also a strong sign of trust and commitment from Lando in us as a team and our journey to world championship contention.

"Lando has shown impressive growth as a Formula 1 driver over the past four years and has been an instrumental part of the team’s momentum and performance trajectory. We are still on our journey to fight at the front and Lando is a key element of our plan, so to lock him into place, alongside Daniel and our senior leadership, gives us stability and continuity as we build towards our ultimate shared goal of world championships.”

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.