Lando Norris claims talks with rival teams “shut down quickly” before signing McLaren extension

Lando Norris decided to extend his contract with McLaren this year despite receiving interest from rivals including Red Bull.

Lando Norris claims talks with rival teams “shut down quickly” before signing McLaren extension

Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Lando Norris has secured his stay at McLaren for the coming years. The British driver has been supported by the Woking-based team since his junior days. However, in Formula 1, drivers always try to keep their options open before committing to a long-term contract. Now, Norris has revealed that he did have talks with rivals before signing his latest contract extension.

The 24-year-old claimed that every driver in Formula 1 has conversations with virtually every team on the grid. Lando Norris reckoned that these discussions were not just about contracts, rather it was to learn about what a team could offer to a driver compared to another rival outfit.

Everyone speaks to everyone, every driver speaks to every team. It's not in terms of just sorting contracts. It's what can one team offer you, and what can another team offer you, and things like that.
Lando Norris said as reported by RacingNews365

Norris admitted that he did hold talks with rival teams last season. The British driver was rumored to be on Red Bull’s radar to partner Max Verstappen. However, Lando Norris claimed that things did not progress. Although, the 24-year-old did not name any specific outfit. Subsequently, the 24-year-old extended his contract with McLaren after shutting down talks with others on the grid. 

It's the same with every driver. Everyone speaks to every team on what could we potentially do one day, but nothing ever progressed more than that, basically. It was shut down quite quickly

Lando Norris happy to race for McLaren

Lando Norris has been a stable part of McLaren since 2019. The British driver has built the team around himself over the years and even annihilated Daniel Ricciardo as his teammate. As such, the 24-year-old is satisfied with the Woking-based team and does not want to go to a rival outfit for now. Norris even claimed that it would’ve been unwise for him to go to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (via IMAGO).

McLaren made impressive progress over the course of the 2023 season. The Woking-based team managed to bounce back after a lackluster start to the year. So much so, that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri became the best of the rest behind Red Bull on a handful of occasions last year.

Certainly, Lando Norris would be hoping to finally win a race in F1 this year. McLaren are likely to make gains over the winter which could potentially put the 24-year-old in prime position to clinch a victory. Fans would be looking forward to seeing how Norris performs in the upcoming season.

In case you missed it: