Lando Norris said the driver uncertainty caused by Lewis Hamilton would not have affected his decision to sign a new deal and stay at McLaren.
A short while before Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was confirmed, Norris’ future was secured when McLaren announced he had signed a “multi-year” deal to stay at the team.
But when it was put to him that he could have waited to see how the market played out, Norris said he was not interested in doing that.
Norris’ deal was confirmed just a day after Charles Leclerc’s at Ferrari was but while those two are tied down for the foreseeable future, there are 12 other drivers on the grid heading into the final year of their deal.
F1’s silly season has already kicked off with Hamilton’s move but with a number of seats up for grabs, it is expected to heat up as the year goes on.
But even if seats at the likes of Mercedes are open, Norris saw enough at McLaren to make it an easy choice.
“No, no, I’m very happy,” the 24-year-old told media including PlanetF1.com in Bahrain. “I could have waited, so I had the choice.
“I knew opportunities were potentially coming my way, and what opportunities I had at the time of last year and coming into this year, and what could have happened or what is happening over the next couple of years anyway.
“So no regrets from any side. I’m confident in my team, I’m confident in what we’ve been able to achieve and what we can achieve going into the future, and I’m very happy with where I am.
“Of course, I could be happier if we were achieving more of the goals that I think we all want to achieve. But the main point is, I’m enjoying my time with the guys that I’m with, and for me, that’s always a big part of my life is that I want to enjoy where I am, and I am.
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“I think that’s an important part of trying to improve as a team at the same time, and knowing everyone and pushing everyone, and I think everyone is capable of getting to the goal of being the top team in Formula 1.”
As for the Mercedes seat, Toto Wolff said the team is not afraid to be “bold” as they were when they hired Nico Rosberg in 2010.
“In the same way we’ve embraced the Nico situation,” he said. “And that was equally from one moment to the other unexpected, I’m really looking forward to making the right decisions for the team together with my colleagues in who’s going to be in the seat next year. And maybe it’s a chance to do something bold.
“I guess that a few contracts have been signed a few weeks ago that we would have looked at that could have been interesting, but the timing here bit us a bit. But in a way, I always like change because change provides you with opportunity.”
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