Lando Norris believes a “fresh start” for McLaren with a brand 𒊎new Formula 1 driver line-up for the 2019 season is the “best thing’ for the team as it looks to recover following a di🍸fficult period.

Formula 2 racer Norris, 18, was announced as part of McLaren’s 2019 F1 line-up on Monday, with the B🐼riton being placed alongside the incoming Carlos Sainz Jr. for🎉 next season.

Norris and Sainz will repla🌼ce outgoing drivers Fernando Alonso a💧nd Stoffel Vandoorne for 2019. Alonso took the decision not to race in F1 next year, instead favouring challenges in other series, while Vandoorne was dropped by the team, making way for Vandoorne.

While Norris saiജd that while he would🌊 have liked to partner two-time world champion Alonso at McLaren, he feels a fresh start and break with the past for 2019 is in the best interests of the team.

“As much as I admire Fernando, and I loved working with him from Daytona all the way through McLaren, I think for the longevity of McLaren and helping them improve as a team together, I think having Carlos i꧑s another thing where we can really push each other together,” Norris sa𒀰id.

“I think Fernando, if he was here again next year, he would definitely help the team improve, but I think going throughout all the years, I think ܫit is good teams have fresh starts every now and then. Especially with where McLaren are now.

“I don’t think it is a bad thing or a good thing tha𝔉t I am going with Carlos. I look forward to working with him. I have never spoken to him or met him,♚ so I look forward to it.

“It is a shame beca❀use I really would have loved the opportunity to dri💫ve with Fernando. Hopefully I will in the future whether it is in Formula 1 or some endurance race. I would like to.

“But for McLar🤪en and myself, I think it is𒈔 the best thing.”

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said he felt 2019 marked a fresh start for McLa🎉ren, having also overhauled the technical and management team in recent months, as well as the driver line-up.

“I think we still don’t have everything in pl💜ace, ie James Key [incoming technical director] – and I’m sure we’ll continue to add to our technical team, but I feel like it’s a big step forward,” Brown said.

“We’ve got lots of clarity, we’ve got lots of motivation, we’ve got the excitement of two new drivers, so I d💫efin🅷itely feel like we’ve got a fresh start going into ’19.

“But we don’t have everything 🎶we need, so as I’ve said before, it is goi𝄹ng to be a bit of a journey to get to our fighting way.”