\n<\/p>\n
Lando Norris says signing a new contract that will keep him at McLaren until at least the end of 2030 was “quite an easy yes for me”.<\/b><\/p>\n
The world champion, whose new deal was announced on Saturday, said he “didn’t even have a look” at other teams before deciding to commit his future to the team he has been with since his Formula 1 debut in 2019.<\/p>\n
“There was some interest from elsewhere,” Norris said in an interview with BBC Sport, “but I don’t want to go anywhere. I don’t want to be with another team. I don’t want to spend time with other people.<\/p>\n
“That’s why it really was probably one of the easiest decisions I’ve made since being in Formula 1.”<\/p>\n
The Briton had no need to rush his decision to commit to McLaren because his existing contract still had more than a year to run.<\/p>\n
But he says the idea “became a topic of conversation over the last four months or so, but very loosely in the background” and he had no hesitation in agreeing.<\/p>\n
Norris says his loyalty to McLaren is based on the relationships he has within the team – starting with chief executive officer Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella – and their shared history.<\/p>\n
After Norris made his F1 debut in 2019, they spent several years struggling for competitiveness, before their form turned around quickly after Stella was promoted at the end of 2022.<\/p>\n
The team won consecutive constructors’ championships in 2024 and 2025 – ending a drought that went back to 1998 – and the drivers’ title for Norris last year.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old said: “The fact I stuck it through with them and then we went on to obviously have success certainly makes me feel like I don’t want to… they didn’t give up on me and I didn’t give up on them.<\/p>\n
“That just creates a very strong bond between everyone that works here. I want to believe that bond stays as strong as it is now ’til I do retire in my career at Formula 1.<\/p>\n
“I know that’s a long, long way away and I don’t want to think of it. But I believe we’re in the best place we’ve ever been even with a tough start to the season. And I believe that we can fight through anything together for sure.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n