"I want to create my own chapter": Lando Norris on why he chose an extension with McLaren over a move to Red Bull

Lando Norris recently claimed that he wanted to create his own chapter with McLaren and that was one of the contributing factors for him to stay with the team instead of going to Red Bull. The young driver has been part of the British team ever since he made his F1 debut.

After spending a couple of years learning the ropes and getting better at his craft, he truly came into his own in 2021. Since then, the driver has been one of the best in F1.

During this time with them, McLaren did stumble in terms of what the team could achieve in 2022. The car concept was not right and that hurt the team. It was during this time that there were conversations about whether Lando Norris could make a move away from the Woking-based squad.

The driver had been linked to Red Bull quite a few times in his career as well and he already has shared a great relationship with Max Verstappen. Regardless, Lando Norris decided to extend his current contract with McLaren which would expire in 2026.

He felt that the reason behind it was that he wanted to create his own legacy with the team. He told Sky Sports:

“To go from out of the points pretty much every single race to being probably the closest team on average to the most successful car that’s ever been in Formula 1, I think showed me enough, and showed everyone here at McLaren enough, that we have what it takes to challenge them."

He added:

“Therefore I want to create my own chapter and my own story of being with McLaren and turning the team around and being part of that journey. So of course there’s always interest and in the back of my mind it’s always like, ‘What would happen if I went here and what could I achieve,’ and so forth."

Lando Norris admits there were discussions with other teams

Lando Norris did admit that there were conversations with other teams. The driver was asked if the Red Bull relationship had been pursued by either side to which the driver admitted that there were discussions but nothing came of it. He said:

“There’s always discussions every now and then. I’m not going to lie and say no, there’s always little discussions and you talk to people and see ‘what could you offer’ kind of thing but it never went further than that."

He added:

"Considering we are talking about the most competitive and successful car in the history of Formula 1 over a season – and I think you have to include the driver in that too – how close we got at certain places with where we started the season I think was pretty impressive."

Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are contracted to be with McLaren until the 2026 F1 season. It will be interesting to see if the lineup could last that long as both are very competitive at the moment.