McLaren rewards best performing talent with F1 seat

  • Published on 03 Apr 2018 11:31
  • comments 9
  • By: Rob Veenstra

McLaren is tangling a tantalising carrot in front of its junior drivers in 2018. According to Dutchman Nick de Vries, McLaren executive Zak Brown has promised that if he or Lando Norris wins the Formula 2 title this year, the prize will be an F1 seat.

"If I become the Formula 2 champion in 2018, then I will get a seat in formula one. It's spelled out in my contract in black and white and that's what Zak told me," de Vries told the Dutch publication Hp De Tijd.

He added: "The same conditions apply to Norris. Lando has some advantage, as his father has a good relationship with Zak and he pays for his career, but if I meet expectations in 2018, then I will be in formula one next season. Everything is in my hands," de Vries added. (GMM)

tangling? o_O

  • 2
  • Apr 3 2018 - 15:09

Replies (9)

Login to reply
  • kngrthr

    Posts: 203

    i want to see someone tangling a carrot. ...

    • + 1
    • Apr 3 2018 - 11:43
    • tangling? o_O

      • + 2
      • Apr 3 2018 - 15:09
    • I mean, props to a guy that can tangle a carrot!

      • + 0
      • Apr 3 2018 - 21:05
  • Kean

    Posts: 692

    Sorry, I gotta call BS on this one. If Vandoorne delivers results, and if Alonso choses to stay at McLaren, I can't see McLaren giving one of the seats to De Vries or Norris and they can't really put them in another team either, except maybe Force India but they're more likely to take Russell or Wehrlein over a McLaren driver.

    • + 0
    • Apr 3 2018 - 17:06
  • If this is true, and its a seat for 2019 he was promised, then McLaren is set for rough times in their camp. What happens if this is true, and he wins, yet Vandoorne perform admirably and Alonso remain? They aint ditchin' Alonso if he wanna stay, and are they gonna ditch Vandoorne just because they promised his seat to someone else? And if they cant, are they gonna try to give him to another team? McLaren dont have the kinda pockets or influence that Ferrari and Merc' have, so the chance of the other teams giving him a seat is low. And KMag had already been at McLaren 1 year when Renault later picked him up.

    • + 0
    • Apr 3 2018 - 19:31
  • Robbie44

    Posts: 62

    Nobody said racing seat. The F2 champion is probably gonna get a development/testing seat.

    • + 1
    • Apr 3 2018 - 21:20
    • Thank you. I don't know why anyone would assume it means a replacement for Vandoorne and Alonso.

      • + 0
      • Apr 3 2018 - 22:17
    • Well, it wouldnt be the first time McLaren promised a race seat without guarantees for one... That aside, it'll still cause issues. Unless McLaren can afford having multiple test drivers?

      • + 0
      • Apr 4 2018 - 06:01
    • @calle I think we have precedent for Mclaren having multiple young guns in its arsenal. They can give them whatever title suits best. Test driver, reserve driver, development driver, etc. Say what you will about Mclaren (and there's plenty in the last few years), but I think they have a pretty good track record of keeping talent they want to keep and not sticking with subpar drivers. Alonso will deliver or overdeliver because that's Alonso. But Stoffel's seat I'd argue is potentially under threat if he's not pretty close to Fernando. Zak is pretty excited about Lando Norris, and for a good reason. He's probably the most exciting young talent right now.

      • + 0
      • Apr 4 2018 - 22:39

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Alpha Tauri
  • Points 2
  • Podiums 0
  • Grand Prix 11
  • Country NL
  • Date of b. Feb 6 1995 (29)
  • Place of b. Sneek, NL
  • Weight 52 kg
  • Length 1.65 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar