- Lando Norris confirms Le Mans ambition as McLaren builds its 2027 Hypercar.
- Zak Brown has already spoken to both Norris and Piastri about the race.
- McLaren remains the only constructor to have won the Triple Crown of motorsport.
Lando Norris wants to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The reigning Formula 1 world champion made that clear in a video published on McLaren’s official YouTube channel.
The Briton said that he would love to compete at the famous endurance race, particularly now that his own team is building a car for it. McLaren’s Hypercar, the MCL-HY, is scheduled to make its Le Mans debut in 2027.
Norris, 25, spoke openly about wanting to try different forms of motorsport beyond grand prix racing.
“You know, I still feel like I want to go and try other things,” he said. “Do Le Mans, now McLaren are doing Le Mans, so maybe go and do that at some point.”
He had previously raised the idea at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he told reporters he would “love” to take on Le Mans.
What sets Norris apart from other F1 drivers who share similar ambitions is straightforward. McLaren already employs him. There are no manufacturer negotiations required, and no loyalty conflicts to navigate.
If the calendar allows it, his path to La Sarthe runs directly through his existing employer in Woking.
McLaren’s endurance push takes shape with the MCL-HY
McLaren unveiled the MCL-HY earlier this year. The car is built around a bespoke 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine and uses a Dallara monocoque.
It will compete in the World Endurance Championship from 2027, marking McLaren’s return to the top class of sportscar racing for the first time since the F1 GTR won Le Mans outright in 1995.
The test livery pays tribute to the McLaren M6A, the car that dominated Can-Am racing in the late 1960s. That choice is deliberate. Team founder Bruce McLaren had once hoped to race that very car at Le Mans himself.
Works driver Mikkel Jensen is leading the 2026 testing programme. He is joined by McLaren Driver Development Programme members Gregoire Saucy and Richard Verschoor, along with United Autosports driver Ben Hanley.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown described the MCL-HY’s unveiling as a landmark moment, noting that McLaren now has competitive race cars in Formula 1, IndyCar and the WEC, putting the team once again in contention for the Triple Crown of motorsport.
Zak Brown has already floated the idea with his F1 drivers
Brown has not kept this conversation behind closed doors. Speaking to WEC TV in early 2025, he said he admired the spirit of drivers from earlier eras, people like Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney, who competed across different disciplines without treating category boundaries as walls.
Brown acknowledged the real obstacles, including calendar clashes and the commercial complexity of modern F1.
But he pointed to Fernando Alonso, a former McLaren driver, as the kind of racer he respects most. “Whether it’s Le Mans, Indy or Dakar, he just wants to race,” Brown said, according to Motorsport.com.
He also confirmed that he had spoken directly to both Norris and Oscar Piastri about racing at 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?” Brown said.
He added that McLaren remains the only constructor to have won the Triple Crown, having taken victories at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1984, the Indianapolis 500 in 1974, and Le Mans in 1995.
Norris would be joining a growing trend of F1 stars eyeing Le Mans
Norris is not alone in eyeing Le Mans. Ford has confirmed discussions with Max Verstappen about a possible future entry, with those talks spanning more than three years.
Verstappen recently competed in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring to gain endurance experience, though his car retired late in the race with a mechanical failure.
Charles Leclerc has spoken about racing at Le Mans alongside his brother Arthur. George Russell has said he would like to compete there after his F1 career ends.
The wider trend reflects a period of genuine growth for endurance racing, with manufacturers including Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, McLaren, and Ford either already competing or preparing to do so in the Hypercar class.
For Norris, winning the 2025 F1 world title has not dulled his appetite for new challenges. It appears to have sharpened it. Brown, for his part, summed it up simply: who wouldn’t want to win Le Mans?
