(Motorsport)  Lando Norris has confirmed that he spoke to Red Bull Racing along with other Formula 1 teams before signing a new contract with McLaren in February this year. The 22 year old signed an extension until 2025 with the second most successful team in Formula 1 history despite the British team being unable to develop a car that can compete against Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari and Mercedes this year. Norris is undoubtedly one of the hottest properties in Formula 1 at the moment and has outperformed his teammate Daniel Ricciardo in almost every way so far.

Norris had initially revealed that he held discussions with Red Bull with German publication Auto Motor und Sport and when asked ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix if his statements were true, the 22 year old replied “It's more just I was coming to the end of my contract, and it wasn't like we (Red Bull and I) were talking heavily. I literally said, it was just, everyone always tries to speak to all teams at some point, so I spoke to them, I spoke to a few other people. A chat's a chat, it's not like, 'what can we do straight away?' Just keeping in touch, things like that, it's as simple as that sometimes. 

"It was just coming to the end of the contract, you see what options are available, you just kind of find out what's possible, what might be possible over the next few years. It wasn't just Red Bull. Every driver has chats with a lot of the different teams on what could happen, and it's as simple as that basically. I've always been happy with McLaren, as much as I could be happier, I've always been happy. Before I've ever spoken to anyone else, my talks have always been with McLaren first, that's always how it goes. 

“As much as sometimes you might like what could happen, the best thing for me is signing the contract that I have now, just having that confidence that you're going to be in F1, and the knowledge that you're going to be in F1 for three, four, five years. For me that's like the best feeling, just because it makes you more relaxed, more comfortable in the environment that you're in."

Interestingly, Norris mentioned that he “could be happier” at McLaren but has opted for the security of a long term deal rather than becoming a free agent and talking to other teams. While the security of being in Formula 1 for the foreseeable future is an attractive idea, a driver of Norris’ calibre should be focused on achieving more than being one of the 20 drivers on the grid. The 22 year old has age on his side and the talent to potentially become a World Champion but he could end up sacrificing his ambition for security by remaining at McLaren, especially if they fail to develop a competitive car in the future. 

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