(Motorsport-Total.com) – Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris will compete in Formula 3 next year – but not as a driver, rather with his own racing team! The McLaren driver has launched a new racing team as well as his own junior program and already plans to enter important European junior series next year.
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Norris has teamed up with the British kart team Fusion Motorsport to found LN4 Fusion. With this team, he wants to compete from 2027 in Formula 3, the European Formula Regional (FRECA), as well as the British and Italian Formula 4 – an entry into Formula 2 is also planned.
The team, based in the Italian region of Veneto, has secured prominent support: Team principal will be Rene Rosin, who was considered a benchmark in junior motorsport for many years with Prema.
Supporting him is former Prema technical director Guillaume Capietto, who acts as race director. Dan Richards strengthens the project as CEO, while longtime Fusion boss Dan Hazlewood leads the British F4 commitment and the test program based in Cambridgeshire as spearhead in the UK.
In addition to the racing team, Norris has also launched the LN4 Legacy Programme – a junior program funded by the McLaren driver that supports talented young drivers from grassroots through the costly FIA formula sport pyramid. Former Alpine sporting director Julian Rouse takes over the management of the fully funded program.
What Norris says about his new project
“I have been very fortunate to have great people around me throughout my career, and I know it takes far more than just talent to make it into Formula 1,” explains Norris. “You need the right people by your side, the right support, and the right opportunities at the right time. That’s exactly what these two projects are about.”
“LN4 Fusion is about building a racing team that can compete with the best in junior motorsport – with great people and an excellent environment where drivers can develop. The LN4 Legacy Programme is meant to open opportunities for talented young drivers that they might not otherwise get.”
“For me, it all naturally fits together. I want to help create opportunities for the next generation on and off the track and hopefully make a real difference for young drivers finding their way through the sport,” says the reigning Formula 1 World Champion.
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That Norris’ team also wants to start directly in the classes within the framework of Formula 1 pleases Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali especially: “Seeing how Lando Norris is committed to this new project is an incredible sign of how crucial the pyramid of Formula 3 and Formula 2 is for the future of Formula 1,” emphasizes the Italian.
“Through Lando’s investment and experience, we can build a future with new drivers, engineers, and mechanics – as well as a tradition that motorsport fans will follow.”
Start in Formula 3 secured, in Formula 2 not yet
For the entry into Formula 2 and Formula 3, LN4 Fusion has already taken over some assets of the AIX team, including the right to the starting spot, so at least the entry into Formula 3 is secured.
“I am very pleased to welcome LN4 Fusion to the Formula 3 grid for 2027 after they took over the starting spot from AIX Racing,” confirms series chief Bruno Michel.
“That the reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris is involved in an F3 team is extremely positive. LN4 Fusion will be a serious project bringing a lot of experience and expertise. I am sure they will do a good job next season.”
The entry into Formula 2, however, is not yet officially confirmed. To get a starting spot there, the team must apply, as the series will re-tender its participating teams for the years 2027 to 2029 and one cannot simply take over the AIX starting spot.
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