Norris eyes 2018 move to Formula 2 or Super Formula

Rising star Lando Norris says he expects to move into Formula 2 or possibly the Japanese Super Formula in 2018.

The 17-year-old is currently competing in the European Formula 3 Championship. He's in second place behind German's Maximilian Günther with four weekends remaining.

But whether he succeeds in winning the title or not, Norris expects to move on to a brand new challenge next season.

“I’m not 100 per cent, but I am pretty sure I won’t be doing F3 next year,” he said. "I don’t think it’s going to be Formula 1 next year. I think it’s more likely to be Formula 2 or Super Formula."

Norris had his first proper taste of Formula 1 last week. He took the wheel of the MCL32 for the second day of testing at the Hungaroring.

Norris said that it went "slightly better than I expected it would go," having lapped faster on ultrasofts than Stoffel Vandoorne.

McLaren sporting director Eric Boullier said Norris had "impressed us all with his maturity, professionalism and speed." He added that the youngster was "a potential star of the future."

With Norris, McLaren may have a 'superstar' on its hands

But Norris expects McLaren to retain its current driver-line-up of Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso next season. That would mean no vacancy for him in Woking next season.

“I don’t think the test changes anything for this season. Nothing is planned," he said. “McLaren is trying to keep Fernando and Stoffel. It’s not really up to me."

The Bristol-born driver won three titles in 2016 - the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and the Toyota Racing Series.

He got his McLaren test chance after receiving the 2016 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, along with a McLaren simulator role.

Heading to Formula 2 (previously GP2) or Super Formula would be in line with the path that took Vandoorne into Formula 1 with the team.

Formula 2 drivers Nyck de Vries and Nobuharu Matsushita are also part of the current McLaren young driver programme alongside Lando Norris.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.