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Norris hopeful of reaching F1 in next two or three years

McLaren youngster Lando Norris says he is in no rush to reach Formula 1 despite his stand-out test in Hungary last week, setting a loose schedule of stepping up in the next two or three years.

Norris, 17, joined up with McLaren's young driver programme earlier this year, balancing commitments alongside a full-season campaign in the FIA European Formula 3 series, where he sits second in the standings.

Norris enjoyed his first F1 test last week at the Hungaroring in the 2017-spec McLaren-Honda MCL32, and stunned the paddock by finishing second overall in the final timesheets.

The performance added to the growing hype surrounding Norris, but the Briton is staying realistic about his chances of stepping up in the near future.

"The aim is to be in Formula 1, let's say within the next two-to-three years. There's no specific kind of time plan or anything," Norris told RealSport.

"A lot of it depends on how I do this year and winning F3 is the best I can do, so that's where my focus is at the moment.

"Then I'll see at the end of the year what I'll be doing next year. Whether that's F2, or Super Formula where they put Stoffel [Vandoorne], that's not really up to me.

"I'm sure we'll have that conversation a bit more towards the end of the year."

Norris was subject to significant praise from McLaren F1 chiefs Zak Brown and Eric Boullier in the wake of his test, acting as a good confidence boost to the youngster.

"Of course, coming from two guys who are a really big part of McLaren and pretty much run McLaren, it's very good," Norris said.

"They've brought up young drivers before, and seen drivers progress into Formula 1, so they know what they're talking about.

"So it gives me more confidence if I was to do it again, that I'm able to cope with the hardness of Formula 1, and coping with everything.

"It's a confidence boost on that side of things, so of course to hear those comments was very good."

Zdroj: crash.net