McLaren test/reserve driver Lando Norris believes that if he was to clinch this year’s Formula 2 title with Carlin, it would be “sweeter” than if he was to win the crown with another outfit.
DAMS, Racing Engineering, ART and Prema have supplied the Drivers’ champion in GP2/F2 since 2011, but Norris has opted to make the move into the series with Carlin, his Formula 3 title-winning squad.
Carlin competed in GP2 between 2011 and 2016 and will return to the series, which was rebranded as Formula 2 last season, for 2018, coinciding with the introduction of a new package.
Norris, who will line up alongside former Red Bull junior Sérgio Sette Câmara at Carlin, expects a tough start, but believes the squad can develop strongly.
“If I was to win…. I think it would definitely be a bit sweeter than if I won with Prema say,” Norris explained.
“It’s definitely going to be tougher than if I went with Prema or ART or a top team but it’s hard to say until we get to the first race.
“I have confidence the team, set-up wise, can do a good job from the start, obviously it’s limited with testing, but it’s a brand-new car, so it’s a bit more of a level playing field.
“I think the aim is to win, I think it’s going to be quite tough, [a championship placing of] top three or something is more realistic, [but] I said that last year [in Formula 3] and I ended up winning…”
Norris says he has “no doubt” that Carlin will be equipped to meet his title aspirations, but expects emulating the feat of reigning champion Charles Leclerc, who won as a rookie, to be tricky.
“I said if I want to prove I’m as good as Leclerc or better then I need to win,” Norris mused.
“I think if I win with Carlin I’d probably prove that I’m better as I’ve joined a team that we don’t really know where we are, and at least if I’d joined Prema at least they’d have had a good baseline to start the year off.
“[But] it’s a much tougher category [than Formula 3] with a lot more variables basically and I think it makes it tougher to win as much as like I have done in the past.
“Again, Leclerc has proved he can do it, and it’ll definitely be tougher to do with Carlin, but I don’t see any doubt in them, especially by mid-point or by the end of the season, be as strong as Prema.”
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