Lando Norris eyes Le Mans with McLaren despite Andrea Stella’s playful doubts

Norris keeps Le Mans ambition alive

Lando Norris has reiterated his desire to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours with McLaren, even as team principal Andrea Stella jokingly signalled his disapproval of the idea.

The possibility is no longer purely theoretical. Norris has already driven McLaren’s LMDh machine during a demonstration run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, an appearance that naturally fuelled speculation about a future competitive outing. His wider interest in racing beyond F1 was also evident during the event, where he shared the spotlight with Valentino Rossi, as reported in our Goodwood Festival of Speed coverage.

A demanding calendar remains the obstacle

That challenge is familiar to other leading F1 drivers. Fernando Alonso won Le Mans outright with Toyota in 2018, while Nico Hulkenberg secured an overall victory with Porsche in 2015 during his Force India days. Max Verstappen has also expressed a desire to compete in the French endurance classic, although he has acknowledged that the modern F1 schedule makes proper preparation extremely difficult.

For Norris, the timing remains deliberately open. Asked whether he wanted to race at Le Mans and compete in other sports car events with McLaren, he told the official Goodwood broadcast: “That’s the plan. One day. I don’t know how far away it is.”

He added that the opportunity could come in two, three, four or even 10 years, stressing that he is a fan of racing and wants to try different forms of competition.

Norris then brought Stella into the conversation, saying: “With Valentino [Rossi], I said I want to try a bike. Andrea [Stella] is here, so he’s shaking his head.”

The exchange was light-hearted, but the underlying message was clear: Norris is keen to broaden his racing horizons. Whether McLaren can fit that ambition around an increasingly demanding F1 and WEC schedule remains the decisive question.