Brown: Norris could have moved 'anywhere'

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has admitted that Lando Norris could have moved "anywhere" for 2026, but that he has opted to remain with the Woking-based side as they have "unfinished business".

Norris stunned many during the recent winter break by signing a contract extension with McLaren, taking him into the new power unit regulations in 2026 with the British outfit.

His announcement came prior to Lewis Hamilton confirming that he will be joining Ferrari next year, making some ponder whether Norris had jumped the gun. The 24-year-old had been linked to several teams in the paddock ahead of signing his contract extension, including the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes.

Red Bull are known to be admirers of Norris, although it appears that the Briton will not be switching to Milton Keynes anytime soon. Norris has only raced for McLaren since making his F1 debut back in 2019 and has played a significant role in making the famous side podium contenders once again.

With Oscar Piastri having also signed a contract extension last year taking him to the end of 2026, McLaren have both young drivers tied down until at least the end of the first year of the new regulations.

Brown is very pleased that both Norris and Piastri have put their faith in McLaren, in what is a huge bonus for the team as they look ahead to the new regulations in 2026.

Boost for 'team morale'

"It's great. I mean, you need two great Grand Prix drivers, and I think that's exactly what we have," Brown told Sky F1. "And given their experience and their age, I think we've got a great driver lineup for the foreseeable future.

"[It's a] big build of confidence from our drivers to want to stay with us, especially when Lando, I think, being shortly out of contract could have gone probably anywhere in the pit-lane and chose to stay, because we still have a lot of unfinished business to do.

"So the team morale is in great, great shape. Pitwall is happy, everyone back at the factory is doing a fantastic job. So we just need to keep our head down, and this is a tough sport. So it's going to take a while to continue to get to the very top but we're looking at everything we've got this year."