Zak Brown made a costly arrangement with Lando Norris, and after the Brit clinched the World Championship title in 2025, the time has come to pay up and fulfil his end of the deal
When Lando Norris crossed the line in third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix earlier this month, he clinched the greatest prize in Formula One, becoming just the 11th British driver to be crowned world champion, and McLaren’s first since Lewis Hamilton ’s triumph in 2008.
However, the 26-year-old also lucked out on another front, completing his half of an agreement that will prove extremely costly for McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.
The deal in question was made public in 2024 as Norris battled Red Bull ’s Max Verstappen for the Drivers’ Championship title. “I’ve got a deal with Zak that if I win the championship, he has to get me a car,” the Brit explained. “I’ve specified which car. We shook on it, but that’s all I’m saying. There’s a long way to go; it’s still a lot of points. But who knows?”
Norris ultimately came up short in 2024, finishing 63 points behind Verstappen, but he got his turn in the spotlight in 2025 when McLaren started the campaign with the dominant car. The Bristol-born racer pipped his friend and rival to the crown by two points, completing his bet with Brown.
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While in his initial interview with The Telegraph , Norris refused to specify which car he was talking about, the machine of his dreams was later revealed as he chatted with fans at a Grand Prix in 2025. The 26-year-old has his sights set on a Pagani Zonda, which can cost upwards of £1million, depending on the model.
Should he succeed in convincing Brown to part ways with his cash for a sports car outside of the McLaren family, Norris will add the Zonda to his impressive car collection. The Brit already counts a Ferrari F40, a McLaren 765LT Spider, and a Lamborghini Miura among his burgeoning collection.
Norris isn’t the only F1 star to express his love for Pagani’s flagship model. Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton owned a Zonda 760 LH for roughly seven years before selling it in 2021 as part of a downsizing effort inspired by his deepening concern for environmental issues.
Hamilton’s custom-built Zonda was next spotted in unfortunate circumstances in 2023. The unnamed new owner crashed the purple supercar inside the Penmaenbach Tunnel in Conwy, Wales, colliding hard with the wall and leaving the multi-million-pound beast in ruins.
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Norris will surely be more careful if he gets his hands on his dream car on Brown’s dime. However, if he wants to retain his title in 2026, he will need to watch out for his team-mate, Oscar Piastri, who will be seeking to avenge his late-season collapse.
“When I look at this season compared to my first two years in F1, this year has been head and shoulders above the first two,” he said after finishing third in the standings. “Ultimately, whilst the end result is not quite what I wanted, there’s a lot of optimism and a lot of strength that I’ve gained from proving to myself what I can achieve through this season.”
