Norris puts Le Mans on bucket list as McLaren builds Hypercar era

The horizons of the motorsport world are expanding rapidly, and reigning Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris is already casting his gaze toward the next grand frontier.

The 26-year-old charger is already letting his imagination drift beyond Sunday afternoons and into the long, dark, adrenaline-soaked world of endurance racing – with Le Mans firmly in his sights, and possibly even a future McLaren chapter written on the famous Circuit de la Sarthe.

And in typical fashion, his thoughts are part ambition, part curiosity, and part “why not?”

Le Mans on the bucket list

Norris, who claimed his maiden world championship last year and now finds himself chasing down an early-season deficit in the 2026 standings, has suggested that Formula 1 will not be the end of his racing story – just the most demanding chapter so far.

"You know, I still feel like I want to go and try other things. Do Le Mans, now McLaren are doing Le Mans, so maybe go and do that at some point,” Norris said in an interview posted on McLaren’s official YouTube channel.

"But I don't know. I'm still young, so I've not thought of everything just yet. But, you know, in the future hopefully I have kids and they get into racing or something and then I can live the story again.”

It is a glimpse into the mind of a driver still very much in the middle of his peak F1 years but already sketching out what comes after – not retirement exactly, but expansion.

For McLaren, that future is already being built.

McLaren’s endurance ambition opens the door

The Woking-based squad is preparing to re-enter top-level endurance racing with a Hypercar programme that will see it compete in the 2027 World Endurance Championship, including the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It is a move that reconnects the team with a discipline it has long admired – and one that could eventually intersect with its Formula 1 stars.

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has already confirmed that conversations about Le Mans have taken place with both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, and the response has been exactly what you might expect from drivers who grew up idolising motorsport’s biggest stages.

"I think we are very open-minded," he told WEC TV last year. "Who doesn't want to win Le Mans? I've talked to Lando and Oscar about it, and they've said they'd love to go race Le Mans.

“That’s cool, right? I think all these motorsports converging are great.

"We love sportscar racing [at McLaren]. We're the only team to have won the Triple Crown, it'd be cool to go for it again. We're impressed with the rules, the competition."

• Read also: Norris hoping to plug in to Formula E with future track test

The implication is clear: McLaren is not just building a Hypercar programme for the sake of presence. It is laying the groundwork for something that could eventually become a crossover playground for its F1 talent.

For now, Norris remains firmly locked into the brutal rhythm of Formula 1, where he currently sits fourth in the championship standings, 49 points adrift of surprise early leader Kimi Antonelli heading into the Canadian Grand Prix.

But with the foundations of McLaren's Hypercar program taking shape on track, the dream of seeing an F1 world champion spearhead a Le Mans victory charge feels closer to reality than ever before.

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