Lando Norris has agreed to a significant new contract with McLaren, securing his place with the British Formula 1 team until the conclusion of the 2030 season. The Press Association reports that the four-year deal is valued at around £120 million, potentially earning Norris up to £30 million per year. This places him among the sport’s top earners, trailing only frontrunners Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Norris, 26, was instrumental in McLaren’s recent success, delivering their first drivers' title since Lewis Hamilton’s victory for the team in 2008. His contract extension comes shortly after his consecutive win at the Dutch Grand Prix, fuelling hopes of him defending his world championship crown. Currently, he lies 83 points behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, with 11 races remaining in the season.
While Hamilton and Verstappen reportedly earn over £60 million annually, Norris expressed his view on his contract status: “I feel I should earn as much as them, but (the contract) is certainly not close to the level of Lewis or Max, which, in a way, it shouldn’t be because I’ve not achieved as much as them in their careers. But in another way, I believe it should be, because I believe I can fight against them whenever I need to, and I can do a better job whenever I need to. But I’m working on it. Hopefully I can then try and match it one day.”
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This new agreement will mark at least 12 seasons with McLaren for Norris, who joined their junior programme at just 17. Despite interest from other teams, the British driver reiterated his commitment to McLaren, emphasising his loyalty and comfort with the team.
“There was interest from other teams but there was no interest (from me) towards other teams,” Norris stated. “It really was the easiest decision I’ve had to make in my career so far. I’ve not been someone who’s jumped from team to team. I’ve stuck with McLaren through times when there were opportunities in the past to go elsewhere.”
Reflecting on his journey, he added, “I was very happy to just stay where I felt very comfortable, followed by the fact that I wanted to get good results. And I still believed through the earlier, harder periods at McLaren that what we achieved over the last few years was possible and obviously all of that came true.”
Looking ahead, Norris said, “Of course, I’ll always have thoughts into the future, but at the minute, there’s really no reason to want to even put a thought into somewhere else. I’ll be very happy at the end of my career to say that McLaren is the only team I’ve been with.”
He also highlighted the positive impact of this timing for both himself and the team: “From a team perspective; what’s going to motivate the team, what’s going to make them more comfortable, what’s going to give them the biggest kind of a push – and we need every push we can have at the minute from morale and a motivation perspective – then it is perfect timing. I want them to know that there’s no other place I’d rather be than right here.”
Norris will aim to bolster his championship campaign with a potential hat-trick of victories at the upcoming Italian Grand Prix next weekend.