Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne will not be driving for the McLaren Formula One team in 2019 and will be replaced by British teenager Lando Norris.
The 18-year-old Norris currently sits in second place in the Formula 2 racing series and has been the team’s reserve driver and taken drives in first practice sessions in Spain and Hungary in 2018. He will be joining Renault’s Carlos Sainz, Jr. who, himself, is replacing the retiring Fernando Alonso.
Working with a sub-standard team, the former F2 champion Vandoorne, 26, has still managed to score eight points this year and is currently in 16th place in the F1 driver’s championship. His best finish during his three years as an F1 driver for McLaren is a pair of seventh place finishes last year at the Singapore Grand Prix and Malaysian Grand Prix.
“It’s clear we haven’t provided Stoffel with the tools to show his true talent,” conceded McLaren team boss, Zak Brown.