Britain’s Lando Norris has confirmed that he held talks with several Formula 1 teams on the grid including Red Bull before finally signing a new contract with his current team McLaren.

At the start of the 2022 season, McLaren announced a contract extension for Lando Norris as part of a multi-year deal that will see the British driver remain with the Woking-based team until at least the end of the 2025 season. But in a recent interview with AMUS, Lando Norris revealed that he had held talks with several teams on the grid before finally signing a new contract with McLaren.

Talks with Red Bull before signing to McLaren

Asked at the weekend in Mexico City if he could possibly elaborate on any such discussions he may have had with other teams, the Brit said, “It was more because I was coming to the end of my contract, and it wasn’t like we [he and Red Bull] had been talking for a long time.”

“Everyone always tries to talk to all the teams at some point, so I talked to them and I talked to other people as well,” Norris explained, as quoted by Sky Sports.

“A discussion is a discussion, it’s not like “what can we do right now?” Keeping in touch, things like that, sometimes it’s as simple as that.”

Norris chooses security

Lando Norris also insisted that he has always preferred the security of a long-term contract and that he first discussed it with his McLaren team before looking elsewhere on the grid.

Perhaps as well, the unspoken point everyone will automatically realise, is that to race at Red Bull Racing means playing second fiddle to Max Verstappen, despite having the fastest car on the grid.

“Before I spoke to anyone else, my discussions were with McLaren first, that’s how it always works. I’ve always been happy at McLaren. The best thing is to have signed the contract I have now and just have that confidence that you are going to be in F1 for three, four or five years.”

“For me, that’s the best feeling, because it makes you more relaxed to be more comfortable in the environment you’re in.”

Next year, Lando Norris will team up with another equally promising youngster; Australian Oscar Piastri who will be a direct replacement for his compatriot Daniel Ricciardo.

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