Norris: Taking a pay cut the ‘best thing’ to help McLaren
Lando Norris says taking a voluntary pay cut was the “best thing” he could have done to help protect the jobs of his colleagues at the McLaren Formula 1 team.
Norris and teammate Carlos Sainz have both agreed to a wage reduction as McLaren became the first F1 team to take active measures to try to cut costs and save jobs amid financial uncertainty caused by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Lando Norris says taking a voluntary pay cut was the “best thing” he could have done to help protect the jobs of his colleagues at the McLaren Formula 1 team.
Norris and teammate Carlos Sainz have both agreed to a wage reduction as McLaren became the first F1 team to take active measures to try to cut costs and save jobs amid financial uncertainty caused by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The McLaren Group has placed some of its staff on a two-month furlough in line with the UK Government’s job retention scheme, while the rest of its workforce – including CEO Zak Brown and other senior management – have taken temporary pay cuts.
"It's the best thing for all of us - including myself - at the moment to make sure that everyone can continue their jobs when we get back to being able to go to work,” Norris explained in Sky Sports F1’s latest Vodcast video.
"It's a sad time for drivers, staff and everyone in Formula 1.
“So many girls and guys who work so hard over so many years and over the winter to build a car and everything and you get to the point when everything is just put on hold.
"I hope not, but we might not be able to do much this year - maybe we won't even do some races.
"To see everyone sitting at home when we love to be working on the car, finding lap time and trying to win races is a sad time for everyone.
“But it's the best thing we can do for our team to make sure that when we can get back to work everyone can get back to work and everything can return and go back to normally, basically, instead of things having to change."
The start of the 2020 season has been delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with the opening eight rounds postponed or cancelled.
Due to the impact of COVID19, the McLaren Group has adopted difficult temporary measures regarding its staff to hopefully protect jobs in the long term. I fully understand these tough decisions and I have obviously decided to take a pay cut. We are all in this together. pic.twitter.com/O2woN7kYKt
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) April 2, 2020
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