Tag: McLaren F1

McLaren driver Lando Norris signs contract extension

The British driver will stay with the Woking, England, based team “well beyond his current contract.”

Hot on the heels of a Charles Leclerc extension, McLaren F1 is locking up their own star driver.

Racer’s Chris Medland reported on Friday that McLaren is extending the contract of British driver Lando Norris. The move comes alongside a recent extension to their other driver in Australian Oscar Piastri, and while we know that contract ends in 2026, this contract is said to simply extend “well beyond” Norris’ current deal that would have seen him stay until 2025.

While Leclerc raced one season with Sauber before heading to Ferrari, Norris has always been a McLaren man. He joined McLaren in 2019 alongside Carlos Sainz directly from his last Formula 2 season, and has since teamed with Daniel Ricciardo and Piastri.

During his stint at McLaren, Norris 633 points and 13 podiums. He hasn’t won a race yet, with his highest place being second, a spot on the podium he has held seven times.

Norris placed sixth in the World Driver’s Championship in 2023, outscoring Piastri 205-97. He was one point behind fourth place, occupied by both Leclerc and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at 206 points.

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McLaren F1 to use Mercedes engines until 2030

The new deal will go through Formula 1’s new engine regulations in 2026.

McLaren’s Formula 1 team is sticking with what works for the near future.

The team announced on Friday that it intends to continue to use engines from Mercedes as a customer team, extending its agreement with the Silver Arrows until 2030. That agreement will bleed into the new upcoming engine regulations for F1, which will take effect in 2026.

McLaren returned to its use of Mercedes engines in 2021 after previously being a customer of Renault. The initial deal extended until the 2024 season, but McLaren will continue to use Mercedes from 2026 to 2030. Regulations are set to change for engines in 2026, which features zero-carbon fuel emissions and a greatly expanded hybrid usage through the engine’s MGU-K, among other new regulations.

The Mercedes era has been kind to McLaren over the last few years. The team got a race win in 2021 with Daniel Ricciardo at Monza and has finished in the top half of the constructors’ standings every year with the engine. As it stands in 2023, there’s a decent argument that McLaren is fielding a top-three car, as the team has come alive in the back half of the year.

Right now, Mercedes currently boasts the most customers on the grid, giving engines to McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams.

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