Ginetta Junior race winner Lando Norris claimed his first Formula 1 points in Bahrain.
Norris joined McLaren at the start of the season after spending the past two years on the team’s development programme.
The Brit made his debut in Australia, where he finished 12th. Despite finishing outside the points, the Brit showed promise, getting his McLaren into the final stage of qualifying and outqualifying his experienced team-mate Carlos Sainz.
With a race under his belt, Norris built on the performance in Bahrain. The 19-year-old enjoyed a tough battle with Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and spent most of the race inside the top 10. After qualifying 10th, he finished sixth, just 9.686s behind Sebastian Vettel to take his and McLaren’s first points of the season.
For the second race in a row, team-mate Sainz was forced to retire. In Australia, an engine problem brought an end to Sainz’s race, but this time the Spaniard’s race ended four laps early due to collision damage.
Norris raced in the Ginetta Junior championship with HHC Motorsport in 2014. He took the rookie title and finished third overall in his maiden season, finishing 81 points behind champion Jack Mitchell with four wins.
Since his year in Ginettas, Norris has added MSA Formula, Formula Renault Eurocup, and European Formula 3 titles to his CV, as well as winning the coverted McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 2016.
Image Credit: Martyn Pass Public Relations
Ginetta Junior Update 