The Carlin team will field 2017 FIA European Formula 3 Champion Lando Norris alongside Sergio Sette Câmara in 2018 as they make their debut in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
The team was absent from the 2017 season after opting to leave Formula 1’s main feeder category at the end of the final GP2 Series season in 2016, but they have decided to make a return next year, and they return with two drivers with a history of racing with the team.
Norris’ history with Carlin goes back to 2015 when he won the BRDC British Formula 4 Championship with the outfit, before he returned to the squad to race in the European Formula 3 Championship in 2017, which ended with the teenager securing another title.
“2018 will be my fourth year racing with Carlin,” said Norris, who also ran with Carlin for selected races in the BRDC Formula 3 Championship in 2016.
“Trevor [Carlin] heads up a great operation at Carlin and I feel part of the ‘family’ there. It’s a friendly environment and one in which I feel very comfortable in.
“Next year will be a steep learning curve in terms of getting used to the increased power, the Pirelli tyres and mandatory pit stops but I feel I’m in the best environment possible to get to grips with all those elements.”
Sette Câmara, a race winner in his rookie Formula 2 campaign in 2017 with MP Motorsport, previously raced with Carlin in the 2016 Macau Grand Prix, which saw him finish on the podium in third place.
“To be signing with Carlin is the best,” said Sette Câmara, a former member of the Red Bull Junior Team. “They are a top team and I know they will be up there.
“I had previous experience with Carlin in Macau in 2016 and it was amazing to finish third in such an important race with them. The environment within the team, with the other drivers, the mechanics, the engineers is just so happy and positive, I’m looking forward to spending the season with the team in such a big championship.
“To have such a strong team-mate as Lando, who is so highly regarded is really motivating. We will push each other to the limit to be better drivers and to get Carlin the results it deserves as a team.
“Thanks to my family and my sponsors who make this possible, I’m very grateful for this opportunity.”
