F1 champion Lando Norris co-founds his own racing team for young drivers

MILAN (AP) — Reigning Formula 1 champion Lando Norris is aiming to win more titles, this time with his own team.

The McLaren driver announced Wednesday he has co-founded his own racing team, LN4 Fusion, for up-and-coming drivers progressing through junior categories toward F1.

Norris’ helmet design in black and neon yellow-green will be the new team’s livery as it takes on a range of championships in 2027, including Formula 3, Italian Formula 4 and the Formula Regional European Championship, with plans to enter Formula 2 in future.

“I think the main part of this for me is I get to simply stay very involved in racing, and because this is a very long-term project, it’s not just a two-year, five-year, 10-year. Hopefully this is much longer,” Norris said ahead of this week’s Italian Grand Prix.

“It’s about always having a team that I can support myself, always having a team that I can really feel a part of, be my family, be cars that I see on TV that I can support.”

Norris, who signed a new contract with McLaren through 2030 last week, has hired experienced managers from junior racing series to run the team day-to-day. But LN4 Fusion says “Lando will play an active role in shaping our identity and culture.”

Norris is also setting up a separate LN4 Legacy Programme to provide financial backing to young drivers “who might not otherwise have the financial backing or support they need to fulfil their potential,” he said, adding it’s important to him “because I know how lucky I was to have support from my family in my journey.”

Norris isn’t the only F1 champion to have a presence in other race series. Four-time champion Max Verstappen has competed for his own sportscar team in endurance racing. In the past. three-time champion Jack Brabham won one of his titles driving for his own Brabham team, which competed in F1 for 30 years.

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