Lando Norris Admits Contemplating His McLaren Future Before Huge Recent Progress

Posted on August 7, 2023 | by Charley Williams When Lando Norris signed his contract extension at McLaren, many questioned whether the team had shown enough progress to justify such a lengthy stay. Lando always stood by his decision, though he admitted that his start to the 2023 season left him wondering what his career would be like elsewhere.  A contract until 2025 seemed a bit mad at the time, but as a driver who’s been backed by McLaren for much of his driving career, he was determined to make it work. But, after the team’s failure to provide him with a competitive car at the start of the 2023 season, he admitted that leaving McLaren had been “in the back” of his mind. He told Sky Sports F1: “In the back of my mind, there’s that impatient game of, ‘do I sit it out for another few years, or is it time to look at something different?'” However, the team’s recent return to form completely changed that. McLaren added major upgrades to their car from the Austrian GP, taking the MCL60 from a back-of-the-grid car to fighting for podiums, pole positions and even wins (well, if Max wasn’t around!). Lando said: “I want to win races with McLaren. I want to win in papaya, I want to win championships. I want to achieve my success and I want to achieve my goals with McLaren. That’s been my target since I’ve come here, since I’ve entered Formula 1 with this team.” He continued: “The more we achieve things like we have done over the past few weeks, the more I’m very confident with the decision I made to stay until 2025 and the more confident I am that we can achieve our goals together in the future.” McLaren’s upgrades have been incredible to watch, with Lando calling its progress “one of the biggest turnarounds in Formula 1 for a very long time”. Do you think Lando’s commitment to the team will pay off?