Lando Norris defends decision to sign long-term F1 contract with McLaren after criticism

Lando Norris insists he is ‘happy’ with his decision to remain with McLaren until the end of the 2025 Formula 1 season, after his decision to commit to the team for such a long period was questioned by pundits including former world champion Jenson Button.

Though F1 contracts typically endure for either one or two seasons, the 22-year-old signed a new deal earlier this year for four full campaigns.

McLaren earned its first win since 2012 at last season’s Italian Grand Prix and has been steadily improving up from the grid order in recent years, but has started 2022 poorly and seems to have struggled with F1’s huge regulation change which has forced all teams to design their cars from scratch.

The MCL36 is off the pace of the frontrunners, with the team in eighth place in the constructors’ standings after the first two rounds of the campaign, ahead only of non-points scorers Aston Martin and Williams.

Jenson Button, who won the champions with Brawn GP in 2009 before a seven season spell with McLaren, said that signing a long-term contract in F1 is inherently risky, and that the Woking outfit’s poor start to the campaign could have Norris reassessing his decision.

‘For Lando, it was surprising that he signed such a long contract at the start of his career,’ Button told Sky Sports F1 after Norris finished seventh at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. ‘We all want to be team players but you never know where the team is going to be in three years.

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‘This [lack of pace] is going to be a big hit. Five years to go and he