Norris and Russell could team up in F2

F3 and GP3 champions could form an all-british superteam as they step up for 2018 season

Good and bad things happened for Lando Norris last weekend. While the 17-year-old Mclaren Formula 1 protege clinched the Formula 3 European Championship at Hockenheim with Carlin, the much-anticipated move into Formula 2 next season with top team Prema Racing finally collapsed, leaving his management to find a new berth. Autosport understands that Norris’s Prema deal came within a couple of days of being signed one month ago, until it got vetoed by Lawrence Stroll, the father of Williams Formula 1 racer Lance who owns a significant share of Prema. The upshot is that the smart money is now on Norris (below) joining ART Grand Prix, where he could line up alongside new GP3 champion and Mercedes F1 protege George Russell – a mouthwatering prospect for any follower of young British racing talent. Until a couple of weeks ago Russell looked to be heading to DAMS, but sources suggest that the pendulum has swung since then in favour of F2’s other leading French team, ART, the same squad with which he claimed the GP3 crown this year.

Immediately after winning the F3 title on Saturday, Norris told Autosport: “The three possibilities are Prema, ART and DAMS, because it depends on whether Mclaren want me to try to win the championship or prepare for what to expect in F1.” But that was hours before the attempts to salvage the Prema situation finally collapsed. Norris could even contest this season’s final F2 round at Yas Marina, which falls a week after his bid to win the Macau Grand Prix. “It’s a possibility and we are doing the post-race tests,” he added. “About the race, I’m not too sure which teams would allow me to do it as a complete rookie. It’s hard to know. I need to speak to Mark [Berryman from ADD Motorsports, Norris’s manager] and Mclaren to see if it’s a good idea to prepare for next year.”

So where does this leave the rest of the F2 driver market? It is well known that Prema is close to a deal with Sean Gelael, which would represent the Indonesian’s third team in three seasons in the category. Gelael’s father Ricardo already lends significant support to Nyck de Vries through his Jagonya Ayam initiative, and it is understood that the Dutch Mclaren protege is a contender for the other seat, but sources also suggest that 2017 F2 runner-up Oliver Rowland should not be ruled out.

Current GP3 runner-up Jack Aitken had been tipped to graduate to F2 with ART with support from the Renault Sport Academy, but if he is gazumped by Norris and Russell then he could very well head to DAMS, which has long had very strong links with Renault. Another of ART’S GP3 starlets, Honda junior Nirei Fukuzumi, would logically be expected to move up to F2, where Honda stablemate Nobuharu Matsushita already races, while Matsushita’s 2017 F2 ART team-mate Alexander Albon will also be jockeying for a seat somewhere.