McLaren Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown believes Lando Norris would have been snapped up by a rival had the team not handed him a 2019 Formula 1 seat.
McLaren confirmed on Monday that 18-year-old Norris will join Carlos Sainz Jr. in an all-new driver line-up for the team next season.
Norris joined McLaren’s young driver programme in 2017, going on to take the Formula 3 title, and stepped up to Formula 2 this year, having also taken on the role of McLaren’s reserve driver.
Toro Rosso reportedly made enquiries about Norris’ availability as a replacement for Brendon Hartley mid-2018, with that approach firmly rebuked by McLaren.
“Well we knew that he would have been snapped up by another team,” said Brown.
“But ultimately we were always on an ‘around the summer break’ timeline.
“So we weren’t pressured by that or didn’t make a decision driven by that, but we’re fully aware that if he wasn’t going to be driving for us next year he would be driving for someone else.”
When pushed on whether that was Red Bull’s junior team, Brown said: “I assume it would have been Toro Rosso.
“Based on the phone calls I got I think there was more than one team interested in him.”
Brown also stressed that his personal involvement in Norris’ career was not an influencing factor in McLaren’s decision for 2019.
“I’ve been looking after Lando before I started at McLaren and before he came to McLaren,” said Brown.
“It’s been very transparent from day one with the shareholders. What we do – and I think I’m not the first person to have that type of relationship in the sport or in business – ultimately what you do is put good governance in place.
“In this instance driver decisions are a group decision, ultimately it goes up to ExCom.
“I do not do the driver negotiations, I never have. John Cooper, our chief business officer, and Tim Murnane our general counsel lead driver negotiations, whether that’s Stoffel’s contract, Fernando’s contract and in this instance Lando’s contract.
“So I recuse myself from that so I’m not conflicted in any sort of negotiation, so it’s quite relaxed around here.
“He’s here on his merit and if he wasn’t here he’d be in another Formula 1 team.”
