It is no secret that over the past decade there have been a number of British drivers that have been tipped to be the next Lewis Hamilton. And, finally, we may have a true contender in the form of 18-year-old Lando Norris — Formula 1’s newest recruit.
With McLaren announcing that Stoffel Vandoorne will part ways with the team at the end of the season, it is now up to Norris to prove that the Woking based giant have made the best decision.
While it is disappointing to see Vandoorne potentially left without a seat in F1 next season — although quite frankly that is a whole different matter — it is important to look at just why Norris is the correct choice of replacement.
The current McLaren reserve driver has demonstrated in his short career thus far that he’s capable of progressing to join the most elite motorsport series in the world.
Credit: FIA European Formula 3
He’s been formidably quick in just about anything he’s driven — ranging from his Formula Renault 2.0 NEC car to his current Formula 2 challenger.
Prior to his single-seat success, he was became the youngest ever champion of the CIK-FIA KF World Championship at the age of 14, following the footsteps of Hamilton.
That fact is, he’s won multiple races in just about any series he’s touched. In 2014 he raced in the competitive Ginetta Junior Championship, where he scored four victories and finished third overall.
In 2015 his move to variations of Formula 4 came, where he raced overseas in Europe too. In the British championship, he dominated the title fight with eight wins. But, what’s more, he raced in Germany and Italy that year, landing himself on the podium in those environments also.
A year later and he won not one but three championships — Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and the Toyota Racing Series. This was also the year that he came eighth in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship and made his first venture into FIA European Formula 3 — both with Carlin.
Norris after winning the Toyota Racing Series Credit: David Unwin/Fairfax NZ.
2017 saw his journey with Carlin continue. This time he raced a full season in FIA European Formula 3 and won it — claiming wins at current Formula 1 tracks including Silverstone, Monza, the Hungaroring and Spa.
He also took part in the legendary Macau Grand Prix, where he came second. In addition, he tested the water in the F1 support series — Formula 2 — taking part in the final two races of the season in Abu Dhabi with Campos Racing. It is no surprise that this was the the year McLaren signed him as their test driver.
Some familiar faces — Max Verstappen and Lando Norris Credit: FIA.com
The McLaren ties continue in the present. This year, Norris — who’s only 19 in November — is the reserve driver for the team, while he races in Formula 2. He’s currently second in the championship standings and 22 points adrift of Mercedes-junior George Russell who has been piling on the pressure all season.
“If I could go back and tell this guy he would be a McLaren F1 driver in 2019, he wouldn’t believe me. Amazing opportunity. Dream come true.” -Lando Norris
While Norris’ racing CV is nothing short of impressive, it is been his time in an F1 that is caused heads to turn.
He first jumped into an F1 car at the post-Hungary Grand Prix test last year. There, he finished second fastest behind none other than Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. From there, he tested again at in the post-Hungary test this year, and had his first Grand Prix weekend outing during practice in Belgium.
But, it was at the Italian Grand Prix — again during practice — that he proved he’s truly worthy of that F1 seat by matching the pace of team-mate Fernando Alonso in the pouring rain. He would have continued to match the Spaniard’s times too, if it wasn’t for traffic on his fastest flying lap. If people weren’t aware of the boy from Somerset yet, there were now.
And so, his seat for next year with McLaren was confirmed just three days after his practice session outing in the wet.
He has a shot at winning the Formula 2 title and, if he does, that’ll be the sixth major European and world championship that he’s been crowned victor of.
His record of achievements and awards — including the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award — all stack up. Of course, he has a long way to go before he equals the great of Hamilton but, my god, he’s on he right track.
Read more posts by Helena Hicks in Motorsport Community on DriveTribe the new website by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
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