Lando lands stunning £20m-a-season deal

LANDO NORRIS has catapulted into the front rank of British sporting earners after signing a four-year deal with McLaren worth up to £20million a season. The 22-year-old’s new contract was announced yesterday, just nine months after he agreed a previous extension valued at about £5m. Norris’s eye-watering deal comes as reward for his stellar performances in 2021, during which he claimed his first pole position in Russia and narrowly missed out on victory in the rain-impacted race the next day. He secured four podiums and finished sixth in the world championship. With interest from rival teams, believed to include Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, McLaren were keen to tie down their star asset. Norris’s new deal puts him ahead of all English footballers in annual earnings, with his £20m figure including bonuses he is entitled to for successes on the track. The Somerset-born driver, who has just moved to Monaco ahead of his fourth season in Formula One, said: ‘I am happy to do it with McLaren, the team I have grown up with. We want to continue what we have done so far and reach our dream, which is winning races and championships. ‘I had to look at all the options — the best for me as a driver and the best for me as a person. ‘Did any teams approach? There were little chats here and there, but nothing went further than that. When something came up, that is when I went to (team principal) Andreas (Seidl) and had a conversation about what our future holds. Which teams? That is something I can’t say but you can probably guess. The fact that I had those opportunities but chose to stay with McLaren is a strong message that this is where I want to be. ‘Of course, money is something that comes into it and if you do have a good season then naturally it will rise a little bit, especially if there are opportunities from other teams. ‘But honestly, it is not the biggest thing for me. My happiness comes above all and that’s the deciding factor in this.’ Norris is one of the two golden boys of British motor racing, along with Mercedes’ George Russell, the 23-year-old who will partner Lewis Hamilton when the new season starts in Bahrain on March 20. Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, is Formula One’s highest earner on £35m a year.