F1 News, Reports and Race Results

McLaren signs Sette Camara as test and development driver

X (Twitter)X (Twitter)
FacebookFacebook
WhatsappWhatsapp

Brazilian driver Sergio Sette Camara has been signed up by McLaren to serve as their test and development driver in 2019.

The 20-year-old replaces Lando Norris in the role, with the Briton moving up to a full-time race seat at Woking next season.

Sette Camara is currently competing alongside Norris for the Carlin team in the Formula 2 championship. He scored his maiden F2 victory last year at Spa-Francorchamps and is currently in sixth place in the 2018 standings.

He's finished on the podium eight times this season, including second place in the most recent outing at Sochi. The race was won by ART's George Russell, who is currently leading the championship and already signed to make his F1 début with Williams next year.

“It’s my dream to one day become a Formula 1 driver, and I’d like to thank McLaren for giving me this incredible opportunity," said Sette Camara, who has previous experience racing in Formula 3 European Championship, Toyota Racing Series and Formula 3 Brasil.

"My aim is to integrate myself in the team and work as closely with them as possible," he added. "To listen, learn and help to develop as a driver, as well as support McLaren."

Sette Camara made his F1 test début in 2016 with the Toro Rosso team and was a former member of the Red Bull junior programme before switching to F2 in 2017.

The team said that as well as working closely with the F1 squad as part of his development, he will also provide valuable support to its racing programme for 2019.

“We’re delighted to welcome Sergio to McLaren and our Young Driver Programme," said McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferran.

"We’ve been following his progress for some time and believe he is a promising young talent with a real potential.

"We’re looking forward to working with him to develop his skills as a well-rounded driver, while having him support our racing operations.”

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

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.

Recent Posts

Hadjar eyes first F1 points after sensational qualifying in Shanghai

Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar is brimming with optimism, convinced that his first Formula 1…

4 hours ago

Leclerc: Qualifying performance reflects Ferrari’s ‘true pace’

Charles Leclerc offered a rather sobering assessment of Ferrari’s current performance level after a challenging…

6 hours ago

Chinese GP: Saturday's action in pictures

Saturday was a day of firsts at the Chinese GP in Shanghai, with Lewis Hamilton…

7 hours ago

Lawson’s confidence crisis deepens: ‘I don’t really have time’

Liam Lawson is finding himself at the center of an intensifying storm as mounting pressure…

8 hours ago

Verstappen sounds alarm as Red Bull trails rivals in Shanghai

Max Verstappen’s Shanghai weekend has sparked concerns at Red Bull Racing, with the four-time champion…

9 hours ago

Hamilton working on ‘master plan’ for Shanghai win

Lewis Hamilton’s debut Ferrari victory in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint event on Saturday hinted…

10 hours ago