One driver just secured his future to 2030 and probably a house extension to go with it. Another team, meanwhile, spent three days at Portimao and came away no closer to knowing who’ll be sat in one of its cars next season. Welcome to the two extremes of F1’s contract merry-go-round.
Lando Norris has extended his deal with McLaren until at least 2030, with options to run it even longer. It’s the kind of announcement that makes perfect sense and still manages to feel slightly premature, given the world champion’s title defence has quietly evaporated over the course of the season. But loyalty pays, literally, and Norris has just been rewarded for nine years of patience with a contract that ties him to Woking well into his thirties.
Norris Cashes In on the Crown
McLaren confirmed the extension on Saturday morning, with Norris breaking the news himself to factory staff in Woking during the team’s family and friends open day. It’s a nice touch, the kind of stage management that suggests McLaren wanted this to feel like a celebration rather than a formality, even though anyone paying attention knew this deal was coming.
“McLaren is my home, and I’m very pleased to be signing a new contract to keep me with the team until at least 2030.” – Lando Norris
Norris’s previous contract ran to the end of 2027, so this extension effectively locks him in for at least four more years beyond that. Given his current form, that’s either a masterstroke or a reminder that McLaren value what he’s already delivered more than what he’s doing right now. Norris has spent the second half of this season being systematically overhauled in the standings, with Kimi Antonelli now sat well clear at the top and George Russell and Lewis Hamilton both above him too. None of that stopped McLaren throwing a party and handing him the keys to his title-winning MCL39 as a keepsake.
Team principal Andrea Stella was suitably effusive, as you’d expect from a man who has just removed any lingering uncertainty about his lead driver’s future.
“He is an exceptional driver, someone who combines outstanding natural speed with maturity, consistency and a strong commitment to McLaren, but above all, he is a special human being who is valued by everyone in the team.” – Andrea Stella
CEO Zak Brown, who was notably absent from Norris’s actual race win in the Netherlands in favour of an IndyCar commitment in Washington, was equally warm from a distance, praising the “papaya era of success” that Norris has helped build. It’s worth noting that team-mate Oscar Piastri is contracted until the end of 2028, meaning McLaren now has both its title winners locked down for years, even as the car’s early-season advantage has clearly faded against a resurgent Mercedes.
The Money Question Nobody Will Answer
Salaries in F1 are treated like state secrets, but it’s fair to assume Norris has negotiated himself a hefty pay rise off the back of his world title, whatever the current standings say about his 2026 form. McLaren clearly see this as an investment in the driver who dragged them from the back of the grid to consecutive constructors’ titles, not a reaction to a few difficult months. Whether that logic survives if Mercedes keep winning is a different conversation entirely.
Haas Watches Three Drivers Lap Within a Tenth of Each Other
While McLaren was busy handing out long-term security, Haas was down in Portugal running yet another Testing of Previous Cars session, trying to work out which of three young hopefuls deserves a shot at replacing Esteban Ocon in 2027. The three-day test at Portimao featured reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, 2025 F2 champion and McLaren development driver Leonardo Fornaroli, and Ferrari junior Rafael Camara, all running laps in the team’s 2025 car.
According to GPblog, the three drivers were separated by a tenth of a second across multiple performance comparisons against Oliver Bearman‘s benchmark times, which tells Haas precisely nothing useful about who’s actually better. Camara also reportedly left a strong impression on his running day, though changeable conditions muddy any direct comparison with the other two. In other words, Haas spent three days and presumably a fair chunk of budget confirming that all three drivers are roughly as quick as each other. Progress.
This test follows a similar exercise last month at Fuji involving Toyota-backed drivers Sho Tsuboi and Nirei Fukuzumi, meaning Haas has now auditioned five different drivers without narrowing anything down. Bearman looks nailed on to stay for another season on loan from Ferrari, but Ocon’s position remains unresolved, officially at least, even if the writing on the wall is getting harder to ignore.
Komatsu Isn’t Rushing, or So He Says
Team principal Ayao Komatsu, speaking ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, played the interest with a straight bat, framing it as flattering rather than a headache.
“I think it’s really good that other people are actually interested in us. At the moment, we’re not performing so well. We cannot challenge for points, but I think it’s nice that other people can see the potential in us.” – Ayao Komatsu, as Autosport reported
Komatsu insists there’s no rush, and given Haas’s history of being one of the last teams to confirm a line-up each season, that’s entirely believable. He’s also right that the driver market elsewhere is unusually settled for 2027, which buys him time. But “we’re not in any rush” is doing a lot of heavy lifting when your own test just failed to separate three candidates, and your current constructors’ position, seventh in the standings with 21 points, hardly suggests a team that can afford to get this decision wrong.
Two Different Realities
Norris now has certainty stretching to 2030, backed by two constructors’ titles and a drivers’ crown, even if his 2026 form has been quietly unravelling behind Mercedes’ resurgence. Haas, meanwhile, is stuck choosing between three drivers who all lapped Portimao at basically the same pace, with no obvious frontrunner and no pressing deadline forcing a decision. One team is rewarding proven success. The other is still trying to work out what success even looks like for it right now. Funny how differently the driver market treats a world champion and a midfield team just trying to survive the budget cap.
