Lando Norris has strongly objected to claims that extending his McLaren contract for so long was a mistake.
Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, raised concerns about Norris’ hefty new contract, which will keep him with the British squad until the end of 2025.
McLaren has started a brand-new era of regulations with a car that is particularly uncompetitive with the same problem being experienced by all Mercedes powered cars.
“I see a lot of stories saying I’ve made the wrong decision, but that is not the case,” the 22-year-old Briton said in Melbourne.
Norris claims to have “complete faith” in McLaren’s ability to return to form.
“There were chances to go to other teams,” he admitted.
“But is it the best thing to be somewhere different for one or two years and then it might be worse? Or is it better to be here and play the long game?”
It’s an intriguing debate, with Norris eventually opting for the ‘long game.’
Surprisingly, the Woking-based team is heavily associated with a working partnership with Audi for 2026 and beyond, despite recent reports claiming the talks had reached a stalemate.
Norris confessed when questioned about Volkswagen’s board-level acceptance of Audi and Porsche entering Formula One, “We and Red Bull seem to be the teams affiliated with that.”
“I can’t comment on that to be honest,” he insisted. I think you should ask Andreas (Seidl).
“But of course it’s good for Formula 1 when big manufacturers get involved.”
