The 2019 season became the year of McLaren’s resurgence back to the front of the grid. A large part of their success was down to their drivers, Carlos Sainz and rookie driver Lando Norris. The British youngster enjoyed a particularly good season with McLaren, ever since he joined in 2017.

When he took part in the Friday practice session at the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix, he turned plenty of heads. He lapped faster than his teammates did in qualifying, though he was aided by softer tyres.

Further adding to his repertoire was the European F3 title, which earned him a reserve driver role in 2018. After Stoffel Vandoorne struggled to keep up with Fernando Alonso, McLaren decided to gamble on Lando Norris.

Speaking about Norris at the Autosport International event, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said, “I think there was some risk with it, Lando being the youngest British driver.”

“He’s had such a stellar career every step of the way. What really clinched it for us when he did his Free Practice 1s [in 2018], he was extremely impressive.”

The rise of Lando Norris

Lando Norris kept on ticking the right boxes as the 2018 season progressed. However, Zak Brown recalled that there was one race which really sealed the deal.

The American cited the FP1 session at the 2018 Belgian GP, where Lando Norris was at his most impressive. He confessed that the youngster was not at all intimidated at taking over Fernando Alonso’s car. Instead, he kept a level head and was on the pace right away.

Needless to say, the gamble paid off as Norris rewarded the team with excellent performances. To make mattered even sweeter, he and Sainz Jr helped steer McLaren to 4th in the championship. At the rate McLaren is progressing, it won’t be long before they become serious contenders.

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