Norris targets Le Mans outing following Daytona experience 

After making his foray into sportscar racing at Daytona earlier this year, McLaren Formula 1 reserve driver Lando Norris now wants to tackle the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

The reigning European Formula 3 champion, who is set to combine his new McLaren F1 role alongside his maiden Formula 2 campaign with Carlin this year, impressed on his debut sportscar outing at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. 

Norris partnered current full-time McLaren F1 driver Fernando Alonso and Phil Hanson in the #23 United Autosports’ Ligier LMP2 car run by McLaren boss Zak Brown for the event in January. 

While a series of reliability issues limited the trio to being classified 38th overall and 90 laps down on the winners, Norris left his mark by posting the fastest time set by all three drivers as he put the United entry on the fringes on the top three during the night. 

And now the rising British teenage sensation is targeting a debut appearance at Le Mans, as well as a return to Daytona in 2019.

“I really enjoyed Daytona, a lot more than I thought I would. I look forward to it a lot, because it was something very different to what I was used to,” he said in an interview on McLaren’s website. 

“But after doing the whole race, the whole experience of going out to America for the first time, it made me want to do it a lot more, basically. Because of that, I want to go to Le Mans, I want to go back to Daytona, I want to do more endurance events.”

The 18-year-old praised the influence that two-time F1 world champion Alonso had on his younger teammates, as the Spaniard began preparations for a marathon 2018 season that will see him contest a full F1 campaign alongside five World Endurance Championship races for Toyota, including June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“To learn off such an experienced, and such an amazing driver, was something I didn’t expect to be going out to do,” Norris explained. “As a teammate, he [Fernando Alonso] was extremely good, I think I got to see a good side of him, because, I think he really enjoyed it. 

“It was something very different to what he is used to, like me. It’s a team game, so I got to work with him more than maybe what you would’ve done in a normal situation in F1. We all helped each other as much as we could and he was very open to explaining things.

“Being with Fernando, I got to see a good side of him. The thing I probably learnt the most was how he approaches the whole event. The preparation he does, how he goes through the data, the amount of effort he puts into helping everyone improve as much as possible. Helping the team to push forward, improving the car and everything.”