Lando Norris responds to £30m salary claim and reveals how pay compares to Hamilton and Verstappen

Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris has extended his McLaren contract and will remain with the Woking outfit until at least the end of the 2030 season.

Norris bagged his maiden F1 world title last year, finishing third in Abu Dhabi to ensure that race winner Max Verstappen couldn't overtake him in the final standings.

The 26-year-old heads into Sunday's Italian Grand Prix in fourth place in the 2026 championship race, chasing leader Kimi Antonelli as well as compatriots George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Clearly delighted with his team and enjoying life after back-to-back wins in Hungary and the Netherlands, Norris signed a new deal with McLaren and announced it at their base in Surrey on Saturday.

"This extension gives us important continuity and reinforces our confidence in the direction we are taking together," said McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, with the team also confirming that there is a 'multi-year option' to extend the deal beyond 2030, which will be the Englishman's 12th season in F1, all under the McLaren banner.

"With him and Oscar [Piastri], we know we can count not only on one of the strongest partnerships but also on one of the most united and close-knit teams in Formula One."

Speculation around the driver's salary has been rife with a new contract in the works, with a £30 million figure most commonly quoted but some suggestions indicating that the world champion could pull in even more.

Neither version is accurate, according to Norris, who laughed off suggestions that he'd be joining the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen as one of the sport's best-paid drivers while speaking to reporters after announcing the deal.

"I feel I should earn as much as them, but it is certainly not close to the figures that I’ve been seeing online, sadly!" said the Bristolian.

"Of course, it is a bit more [than the last contract], as it is with any job when you kind of extend. But it’s certainly not close to the level of Lewis or Max.

"Which, in a way, it shouldn’t be, because I’ve not achieved as much as what they’ve achieved in their careers.

"But in another way, I believe it should be, because I believe I can fight against them whenever I need to, and I can do a better job whenever I need to."

Naturally, Norris is focused on staying competitive with the top drivers on the track first and foremost.

He spoke about feeling at home at McLaren and intending to spend his entire career with the team, having been deployed as a reserve driver in 2018 and occupied a race seat for each of the last eight seasons.

Norris sits in fourth place in the drivers' championship standings after successive Grand Prix wins, his first of 2026.

He has finished in the points in every race he's completed but the McLaren star's only previous podiums came in Miami in May and Barcelona-Catalunya in June.