McLaren CEO Zak Brown has downplayed suggestions that 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari played a factor in 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lando Norris’ latest F1 con🗹tract extension at th🌺e start of this year.

Norris signed a new multi-year McLaren deal, with the team announcing it just one week before Hamil♚ton’s bombshell switch to Ferrari was revealed.

Many have suggested that Norris’ contract extension was wrapped up sooner to ensure the British driver was taken off the 🦩driver market, ensuring Mercedes could not sign him as a possible Hamilton replacement.

It means McLaren have Norris and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Oscar Piastri contrac🐟ted until the en🤡d of 2026, giving the Woking outfit one of the most exciting line ups on the grid.

Speaking after the official launch of McLaren’s 2024 F1 challenger, Brown told Sky Sports News that Hamilton’s Ferrari move playe🐭d no role in No😼rris’ new deal.

“We were aware that there was potentially some movement, but that didn’t really have any🎐thing to do with Lando,” Brown said. “We’d signed ♍him up. Previously, we’re just waiting for him to get back to actually make the announcement.

“But we knꦜew that Lando and of course Oscar, but we had Oscar signed up for a while, both are hot propꦜerties.

“So it was less about knowing specifically what was going on with Lewis 🌃and Ferrari and Mercedes as much as knowing Lando is top of everybody’s list and ours included.”

After a poo🅷r start, McLaren enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in the second♏ half of 2023, ultimately finishing fourth in the constructors’ championship.

Particularly at high-speed circuits such as Silverstone, Suzuka and Losail, McLaren could challenge Reඣd Bull on outright pace.

Brown believes Norris’ confide🌜nce in McLaren, and the 🐬progress they’ve shown, is the reason he wanted to commit his future.

“We had a really ꩵstrong second half of the year, and I think Lando has got the same confidence we do in the team and belief in ourselves. And so it was great to get him signed up,” he added.

“And I thiꦯnk, what I’ve really focused on is bringing staಌbility to the team.

“So with our new hires, or your existing team, Andrea [Ste♏lla], technology infrastructure, we’re just trying to keep our head down, ♚be focused, and there’s some drama going on in the sport at the moment we don’t want to be part of.”