Norris raises Le Mans possibility as McLaren prepare for WEC Hypercar class

So far, former Peugeot driver Mikkel Jensen and Laurens Vanthoor have been confirmed as McLaren's WEC drivers in 2027, and while next year surely ought to be too soon for F1 world champion Norris, the 26-year-old is not ruling out an appearance for McLaren at Le Mans at some point during his career.

Speaking on McLaren’s YouTube channel, Norris said: "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.

It comes as no surprise that Norris would be interested in racing at Le Mans. At just 18, the Briton shared a Ligier JSP217 for United Autosports with former McLaren driver Fernando Alonso at the 2018 24 hours of Daytona. Norris also competed in the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans with Max Verstappen for the Dutchman’s Team Redline in June 2020.

Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri is also said to be eying up a run at Le Mans. Speaking to WEC TV last year, McLaren CEO Zak Brown backed his F1 pair for a run at the iconic race, reiterating the team’s goal of winning motorsport’s Triple Crown (Monaco, Le Mans and Indy 500) once again, already as the only squad ever to do so previously.

Brown said: “I think we are very open-minded. 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 sports car racing. 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."

Perhaps Le Mans is not the only 24-hour race on Norris’ bucket list after the McLaren driver revealed he’s been keeping up with Verstappen’s recent Nurburgring exploits. The Dutchman recently competed at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, but with victory in sight, his team could only finish in 38th after suffering a driveshaft issue.

Norris too has been at the Nordschleife recently, driving a McLaren 750s during a Pirelli tyre test with the team during F1’s April break. Like Verstappen, Norris has been critical of the 2026 F1 regulations, describing his brief go at the ‘Green Hell’ as the “most fun I’ve had all year.”

Norris said: “It was also so much fun because it’s a track I’ve driven a lot in Gran Turismo and iRacing. I’ve known the Nordschleife from the simulator for years. It’s one of those tracks that everyone wants to drive.

Norris added: “As much as I’ve been in Formula 1 for years, I’ve been to Nürburgring countless times. It was my first opportunity to actually go on the Nordschleife and drive, but I’ve also been watching all of the onboards. I knew the track off by heart already, so I felt like I knew the track, but I’ve been watching all the GT races that Max has been doing. I have quite a few of my friends in GT racing, so I’ve watched it for years.”