McLaren announced the signing of their reserve Lando Norris in a multi-year deal starting from the 2019 Formula 1 season.
Barely an hour after their confirmation of Stoffel Vandoorne leaving the team at the end of 2018 F1 season, McLaren has already announced Norris as his replacement to partner with Carlos Sainz from the 2019 season.
The British driver has been part of the McLaren team since the 2017 season and was named as its reserve for this year. He earned his first FP1 run in the Belgian GP two weeks back and had another go in last weekend’s Italian GP.
He is currently racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Carlin and sits second with 197 points as he fights for the title against ART Grand Prix and Mercedes junior George Russell in his rookie season itself.
“To be announced as a race driver for McLaren is a dream come true,” he said. “Although I’ve been part of the team for a while now, this is a special moment, one I could only hope would become reality.
“I’d like to thank the whole team for this amazing opportunity and for believing in me. I’m also extremely grateful for the commitment McLaren has already shown in my development, allowing me to build my experience in a Formula 1 car in both testing and on Fridays during the past two race weekends.
“For the remainder of 2018, my focus remains firmly on the Formula 2 championship. My objective is to win the title before joining McLaren full-time, which will be tough, but I will fight as hard as I can for the remaining four races.
“I’ll also be working closely with McLaren at every opportunity to learn as much as possible from the drivers, engineers and mechanics to give myself the best preparation ahead of next year.”
Zak Brown added: “We’re very pleased to finally be able to reveal who will complete our driver line-up at McLaren for 2019. We believe Lando is an exciting talent, full of potential, who we’ve very deliberately kept within the McLaren fold for exactly that reason.
“We already know he’s fast, he learns quickly, and has a mature head on his young shoulders. We see much potential for our future together. The investment we have made in his budding career with simulator development and seat-time in the car has been well-deserved, as he has continued to prove his abilities both behind the wheel and in his work with the engineering team.
“Lando is an integral part of our plan for rebuilding our Formula 1 operation for the future, and he has already developed a strong relationship with the team. In Lando and Carlos we have an impressive duo who, despite their relative youth, hold valuable experience in Formula 1 and with McLaren, and represent the next generation of McLaren drivers to lead the team forward.
“While our short-term focus is fixed on securing the best possible result for the remainder of the 2018 season, we’re also massively motivated by the opportunities that lie ahead,” he added, as the team readies for an all-new line-up in 2019.
Norris has a solid CV behind him with title wins in MSA Formula 4 Championship in 2015 followed by Toyota Racing Series, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC & Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 in 2016 and most recently in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in 2017.
The announcement ends any speculations regarding a possible return of Sergio Perez in the team and or Esteban Ocon joining in, who were incidentally named among the four drivers by Brown during the Italian GP weekend.
