Formula 2 driver Lando Norris has described his call-up to Formula 1 with McLaren a "dream come true".
The British racer has been backed by McLaren since 2017, when he joined their young driver programme. and has steadily risen through the junior ranks, winning the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and the Toyota Racing Series Championship all in 2016.
In addition to five karting championships in the four previous years. Last year he contested the European Formula 3 Championship, which he won at the first attempt.
Norris currently sits second in the F2 championship, 22 points adrift of leader George Russell with four races remaining.
On Monday, McLaren confirmed that Norris would replace Stoffel Vandoorne to partner Carlos Sainz Jr at the team for the 2019 season.
"To be announced as a race driver for McLaren is a dream come true," he said. "Although I’ve been part of the team for a while now, this is a special moment, one I could only hope would become reality.
"I’d like to thank the whole team for this amazing opportunity and for believing in me. I’m also extremely grateful for the commitment McLaren has already shown in my development, allowing me to build my experience in a Formula 1 car in both testing and on Fridays during the past two race weekends.
"For the remainder of 2018, my focus remains firmly on the Formula 2 championship. My objective is to win the title before joining McLaren full-time, which will be tough, but I will fight as hard as I can for the remaining four races.
"I’ll also be working closely with McLaren at every opportunity to learn as much as possible from the drivers, engineers and mechanics to give myself the best preparation ahead of next year."
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