McLaren confirm deal for potential Norris successor as Red Bull interest grows

McLaren have completed the signing of reigning Formula 3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, adding him to their driver development programme for the 2024 season onwards. This is a big step in securing a long-term Lando Norris replacement.

The 18-year-old finished on the podium six times in his rookie F3 campaign and supplemented those highs by finishing in the points in all but three of the 18 races on the calendar. This gave him a points tally of 164, leaving Bortoleto comfortable at the top of the standings.

After wrapping up the championship during qualifying ahead of the final round of the season at Monza, Bortoleto finished 45 points clear of nearest rival and Williams junior driver Zak O’Sullivan, and a further seven points clear of Mercedes prospect Paul Aron.

Now confirmed as a McLaren junior prodigy, Bortoleto said: “I’m excited to be joining the McLaren Driver Development programme. I’m grateful to McLaren and Emanuele for giving me this opportunity.

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“I’ve already been in the MTC for a tour and to meet the team, which was a really nice experience. I’m looking forward to continuing working on my development alongside a great team.”

While having the backing of McLaren represents a massive opportunity for Bortoleto, there will be pressure from within the team for him to perform and grow as he heads into his rookie season at Formula 2 level.

With Lando Norris out of contract at the end of the 2025 season and Red Bull keen to tap up the 23-year-old, CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella are already taking steps to secure a successor in the event that the Bristol-born driver does depart the McLaren set-up.

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Alex Palou’s contract saga ruled out one potential avenue for the team when he revealed that he would be abandoning his McLaren duties to re-sign with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2024 IndyCar season on a multi-year deal.

Fellow IndyCar star Pato O’Ward is also an option for the Woking-based outfit, although he remains the poster boy of their operations in the United States and it remains unknown whether Brown views him as a potential future F1 star.

Bortoleto, therefore, is the leading hope of the McLaren junior programme. The teenage sensation will have at least two seasons at F2 level to impress before Norris’ current deal comes to an end, making him one to watch for 2024 and beyond.

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