Norris Founds New Team with Fusion Motorsport Partnership

Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris has launched a new racing team that will compete across junior motorsport from 2027. Norris, who races in F1 for McLaren, has established a team called LN4 Fusion along with Fusion Motorsport, poised to compete across Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formula 4 in the near future.

The new team is intended to provide a pathway for young drivers to move from go-karting all the way up the single-seater racing ladder en route toward F1. LN4 Fusion has appointed Rene Rosin, the former boss of the successful Prema outfit that competed across junior motorsport, as its team principal, along with ex-Prema technical chief Guillaume Capietto as its racing director.

Confirmed Entries and Ambitions

The new team already has confirmed entries in Italian F4, the Formula Regional European Championship (a level between F4 and F3) and the FIA F3 series from next year. The F3 entry was secured after the new group acquired selected assets of AIX Racing, which has a place on next year's grid for the series that competes as part of F1's undercard.

The application procedure for LN4 Fusion to compete in F2, the final category before F1, is also underway. Launch images of the LN4 Fusion cars — denoting Norris's initials and his usual racing number — showed them running a paint scheme that features Norris's hallmark fluorescent yellow colour and graphics used on his race helmet.

LN4 Legacy Programme for Young Drivers

Norris has also launched a fully-funded driver development scheme called the LN4 Legacy Programme, which will be operated by his management and overseen by Julian Rouse, an experienced figure in junior motorsport who previously worked in F1 with Alpine.

"LN4 Fusion is about building a race team that can compete with the best in junior motorsport, with great people and a great environment for drivers to develop," Norris said in a statement. "The LN4 Legacy Programme is about helping talented young drivers get opportunities they might not otherwise have. For me, they naturally fit together. I want to help create opportunities for the next generation, both on and off the track, and hopefully make a real difference to young drivers coming through the sport."

Norris's McLaren Commitment and F1 Precedents

Norris recently signed a new long-term contract with McLaren that will keep him at the team through to the end of 2030, with an option to extend for more years beyond that. The 26-year-old clinched his maiden F1 world championship last year.

Norris is not the first F1 driver to dip his toe into team ownership. Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, has established his own team, Verstappen Racing, in sports car racing, with which he has raced at a number of events. Verstappen Racing also has interests in sim racing. But the move by Norris to establish the new squad reaching across so many levels of junior motorsport, right the way up to F2, should help create more opportunities for young drivers.

F1 and F2/F3 Leadership Welcome the Move

Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of F1, called it an "incredible statement on how much the pyramid of Formula 3 and Formula 2 is crucial to the future of Formula 1. Through Lando's investment and experience, we can build a future, with new drivers, engineers, mechanics, and a tradition that will be followed by motorsport lovers."

Bruno Michel, the CEO of F2 and F3, added: "Lando has been the first Formula 1 world champion coming from Formula 2, and to have him involved in one of our teams is extremely positive. I am certain that this will be a serious project and they will bring a lot of expertise to our championship. I'm also glad to see René Rosin back in our paddock, with this new challenge."