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Lando Norris will make his Formula 1 weekend debut at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday, as McLaren has confirmed the Briton will drive the MCL33 during the first free practice session.
Norris is McLaren's current reserve driver and has been linked with a full-time race seat with the team for next year. The 19-year-old will take over Fernando Alonso's car for the session, who will be leaving the sport at the end of the year.
McLaren has already confirmed that Carlos Sainz will fill one of the seats at the team next season, and it is now evaluating who their best option for 2019 is. Norris is high on the list, while Stoffel Vandoorne still has an opportunity to retain his drive next year.
However, it is believed that Mercedes is pushing to get Esteban Ocon in at McLaren, as the Frenchman is likely to lose his seat at Force India next year. Lance Stroll is set to join the team and partner Sergio Perez, who brings significant financial backing.
Norris' outing will allow McLaren to directly compare him to Alonso and Vandoorne, while also seeing how he copes with the pressure of an F1 weekend. And it is believed that he will step into the cockpit again at Monza one week later for another session, this time in Vandoorne's car.
"This is not only part of his ongoing development, but also the evaluation and performance evolution of the car," said sporting director Gil de Ferran. "We’ll be taking a strategic view race-by-race at where else this might be beneficial for us over the coming Grands Prix. Spa-Francorchamps has a well-deserved reputation as a racers’ circuit due to its historic significance and popularity among the drivers."
Fergal Walsh
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