Lando Norris could leave McLaren at end of the season, claims Nico Rosberg

Norris has a contract at McLaren until the end of 2025 but has been linked with a move to Red Bull

Kieran Jackson
Wednesday 06 September 2023 13:52 BST
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Lando Norris could leave McLaren at the end of the season with Nico Rosberg hinting that there is a “switch coming” for the British driver.

Norris is currently in the midst of his fifth F1 season with McLaren and has a contract with the Woking-based team until the end of the 2025 campaign.

However, the 23-year-old has been linked with a move to Red Bull to partner close friend Max Verstappen – with Norris admitting he would “love the opportunity” to be team-mates with the Dutchman down the line.

Verstappen has echoed Norris’ thoughts and Rosberg hinted Norris could depart McLaren at the end of the season, saying on Sky F1: “Where’s he [Norris] going? Next year already. I hear there’s a switch coming.”

Despite this, Norris has publicly reiterated his commitment to McLaren, especially following a mid-season revival in the last few months, while Verstappen’s current team-mate Sergio Perez has a deal with Red Bull until the end of 2024.

Verstappen said of the potential link-up with Norris: “We’ll talk about it. But his contract to McLaren [is] for a long time. We’ll see what happens in the future.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown, however, is focused on a future with Norris firmly at the papaya.

Lando Norris has a contract at McLaren until the end of 2025
Lando Norris has a contract at McLaren until the end of 2025 (Getty Images)

“He loves McLaren, it’s been his family, so there’s no doubt in my mind that his number one choice is to win a world championship with McLaren,” Brown said.

“I think the best thing we do to retain him is to demonstrate to him we’re a team capable of doing that. It’s not a case of wooing him or not wooing him, it’s about giving him a car where he can look himself in the mirror and say ‘I think I can win a world championship with this team’.

"We’ve got our team in place. It’s stable. We have additional talent coming to be additive to what we currently have. We have all the financial resources we need. It’s just going to take a little bit of time so as long as we can show this progress.”

Norris has been on the podium eight times in his F1 career, most recently in Hungary in July, but is still waiting for his first race victory.

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