Lando Norris, 21, has signed a multi-year extension with McLaren F1 that cements the team’s driver lineup for the near future. The announcement comes at the one-year anniversary of McLaren announcing a multi-year deal with Daniel Ricciardo to move from Renault.
“My commitment to McLaren is clear: my goal is to win races and become Formula 1 World Champion,” Norris said in a release.
Norris joined McLaren as one of their two fulltime drivers in 2019 and in 42 career starts with them, he has two podium finishes, both third-place finishes. Norris stood on the podium last year in the season-opening Grand Prix of Austria. He repeated the feat in the second race of this season at Imola.
The length of the extension was not announced, only that is is a multi-year agreement that includes “2022 and beyond.”
In addition to his podium at Imola, Norris has two other top-fives in four races run so far this season. He currently sits fourth in the Drivers Championship.
“I’m really pleased to have extended my relationship with McLaren from 2022,” Norris said. “Having been with the team for almost five years, I feel very much part of the family here and I couldn’t imagine starting the next phase of my career anywhere else. … Since joining in 2017 our progression has been consistent and we have clear ambitions together for the future.”
Norris was the test and simulator driver for McLaren in 2017 before becoming their reserve driver in 2018.
The announcement comes ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, which was not run in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Norris finished on the lead lap in 11th in that race in 2019.
Norris finished ninth in the championship hunt last year with six top-fives in 17 races. He ended on a high note with two of those strong runs coming in the final three races.
McLaren finished third in the Constructors Championship last year with 202 points and a seven-point margin over fourth-place Racing Point.
“I’m delighted with the extension of our agreement with Lando for 2022 and beyond,” Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing said. “He’s been instrumental in our return of form here at McLaren and we’re proud of the growth he’s shown since he first started with us back in 2017. Lando is one of the brightest talents on the Formula 1 grid and we look forward to seeing him continue to go from strength-to-strength both on and off track.”
