F1: Lando Norris Confirmed To Replace Stoffel Vandoorne At McLaren Next Season

Lando Norris has been announced as the new driver at McLaren for the 2019 Formula One season. The Formula 2 front-runner will be replacing Stoffel Vandoorne, who announced his departure from the team at the end of this season. Norris was one of the four shortlisted drivers for the seat after it became increasingly clear that Vandoorne will not continue with McLaren owing to poor performance. Lando will be joining the newly recruited Carlos Sainz in the McLaren garage in 2019, with the latter stepping in for Fernando Alonso, who announced his retirement from Formula 1 by the end of this season.

Norris was given the opportunity to run on a Grand Prix weekend for the first time when he drove in FP1 at Spa and Monza. His performance impressed the Woking-based outfit, which earned him the seat at McLaren. The 18-year-old British racing driver has been a part of the McLaren young driver programme since 2017 and has won a number of junior categories, as well as last year's European F3 title. Norris is currently in contention for the F2 battling against Mercedes junior driver George Russell.

Speaking about driving for McLaren in F1, Lando Norris said, "To be announced as a race driver for McLaren is a dream come true. 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."

McLaren Racing CEO, Zak Brown said, "We believe Lando is an exciting talent, full of potential, who we've very deliberately kept within the McLaren fold for exactly that reason. 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."

Speaking about his exit from McLaren, Stoffel Vandoorne said, "I'm very grateful to McLaren for investing their faith in me over the past five years. I joined McLaren as a young driver and have since seen my career progress within the team from Test and Development Driver to Reserve Driver and then to full-time race driver. While we haven't achieved the success we'd all hoped for, I've really enjoyed the past two seasons racing for McLaren and I have a great relationship with everyone in the team. My time at McLaren has been a great chapter in my career and I'm thankful for the opportunity the team, Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa and Mansour Ojjeh have given me to gain valuable Formula 1 experience and develop as a driver. I intend to give it my all for the remaining seven races of this season, and will announce my plans for next season in due course."

It's not clear where Vandoorne is headed in 2019 and it will be interesting to see the driver get picked up by any of the other teams including Sauber or Williams. Having spent five years with McLaren, the Belgian started out as a part of the team's young driver programme in 2013, and was their test driver in 2014. He was later promoted to reserve in 2016 and went on to score a point when filling in for Alonso. With Jenson Button's retirement at the end of 2016, Vandoorne was given the seat at McLaren in 2017. However, the 26-year-old hasn't been able to score points this season and has struggled to get comfortable with the car. He currently sits 16th in the drivers' standings, 36 points and five places behind Alonso.