Lando Norris joined McLaren in 2019 and has stayed loyal to the Woking-based team ever since, pinning his hopes on a more competitive car in the future.
Now that’s starting to pay off, with Lando taking his first win for the team in 2024. But as his results continue to impress, have McLaren managed to lock the British talent in for the next few years? All the details of his current contract are below.
Original contracts
After joining the team as a test and reserve driver in 2017, Norris was promoted to a full-time race seat in 2019. His initial contract was relatively short-term, just one year, reflecting his rookie status and the uncertainties that come with any young driver’s first foray into Formula 1.
Despite the inherent pressures, Norris quickly adapted to the top level of motorsport, earning praise for his speed, racecraft, and maturity from his team, pundits and fellow drivers. In his first season he scored 11 top-ten finishes.
The initial deal was quickly extended as Norris continued to impress on the track. In July 2019, before his home Grand Prix at Silverstone, McLaren announced they’d retain Lando for another three seasons, until the end of 2022. CEO Zak Brown showed his commitment to Lando, hoping the team would get more successful as Norris became more successful.
During the 2021 season, before the Monte Carlo grand Prix, McLaren announced a new contract extension that would keep Lando with the team until the end of 2023, extending his previous contract by another year.
As the races progressed Lando’s talent was obvious, and Zak Brown and McLaren were keen to keep hold of him. So in February 2022 they once again extended Lando’s contract on a long-term basis, ensuring he’d be with the team until the end of 2025.
The four-year deal is a long commitment for a driver who, at the time, was not in a race-winning car. But he had been approached by other teams on multiple occasions, so wanted to show his faith lay with McLaren and their commitment to improving and developing their car in to a race winner.
Lando's current contract
2023 was a breakthrough year for McLaren and Lando, who was now teammates with the young Aussie hotshot Oscar Piastri.
Lando finished 6th in the championship with 205 points and scored 7 podiums. McLaren were finally looking competitive again and Lando’s impressive results were gaining him more attention. Especially as there were some big seats available in other teams in the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s shock departure from Mercedes to join Ferrari.
To secure his future with the team, McLaren announced a contract extension for Lando in February 2024.
Lando will remain with McLaren until at least the end of 2026. That’ll give the team an un-changed drive line-up for the next 3 seasons, providing them with the stability they need to build on their recent successes.
Once again, Lando showed his commitment to the team and when asked shortly after the news about Lewis broke he said he had “no regrets”, despite the fact he knew what other opportunites might be coming his way. Norris said he was “enjoying his time with the McLaren guys” and was “confident with what the team are able to achieve”.
Already, Norris’ commitment to McLaren has paid off in 2024. Lando took his long-awaited maiden victory at the Miami Grand Prix, and moved up to P2 in the driver’s championship after the Spanish Grand Prix, his highest ever position.
With a car that looks capable of taking it to the dominant Red Bull of Verstappen, 2024 is shaping up to be an amazing year for the Papaya team.
Salary
In his first season with McLaren in 2019, Lando was ‘only’ on six-figure salary as a rookie. But each year it’s gone up and up, and coming off the back of a very successful 2023 season Lando is now one of the five highest paid drivers on the grid, making him a very wealthy man.
See the full details of Lando’s salary here.
