Norris With 'No Regrets' Over Potentially Losing Mercedes Seat By Signing Early With McLaren
F1Monday, 26 February 2024 at 15:00
Lando Norris expressed no regrets over the situation with an empty seat in Mercedes just a few days after he committed to McLaren.
McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris had his previous contract with McLaren valid until the end of the 2025 season. However, at the beginning of 2024, he already decided to extend this contract with a "multi-year" deal.
The positive of this deal for the 24-year-old is that McLaren probably had to pay a significant premium to get him to sign so early, and not he as the security of having a seat in F1 for at least 4 more seasons.
On the other hand, the risk was that some better opportunities would surface later, and that is precisely what happened.
Lewis Hamilton signed with Ferrari, which means there will be an empty seat in the Mercedes, and Norris would definitely be one of the drivers on top of Wolff's list if he were available.
However, the 24-year-old driver told the media at Bahrain International Circuit after his final session of the pre-season testing: "I'm very happy. I could have waited. I had the choice."
"I knew opportunities were potentially coming my way, I knew what opportunities I had at the time of last year and coming into this year and what could have happened, or what is happening over the next couple of years anyway."
McLaren struggled at the back of the grid at the beginning of last season. But then, the team showed a very impressive recovery, and Norris probably sees potential in it to commit for the long-term like he did.
Even though Mercedes has been much more successful over the last ten years than McLaren, the 24-year-old looks to the future and asserted he has no regrets about his decision.
"So no, no regrets from any side. I'm confident in my team, I'm confident in what we've been able to achieve and what we can achieve going into the future, and I'm very happy with where I am."
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