Norris to balance F2 duties with Sochi FP1 appearance

McLaren has confirmed Lando Norris will feature in the opening Formula 1 practice session for the Russian Grand Prix weekend in Sochi this Friday, combining the outing with his Formula 2 race duties.

F2 title contender Norris was confirmed earlier this month to be stepping up into a full-time McLaren F1 seat in 2019, having impressed the team during his F1 practice outings at Spa and Monza.

McLaren confirmed it would be giving Norris a number of additional FP1 outings across the remainder of the 2018 season in order to help his preparation for his F1 debut next year, with his next appearance coming in Russia this Friday.

Despite previously saying it would not look to enter Norris to FP1 on weekends where he also had F2 duties, the British youngster will now feature at the Sochi Autodrom behind the wheel of the McLaren MCL33.

"Lando will once again drive in FP1 in Russia, which will be a busy weekend for him, as he combines his F1 duties with his F2 championship campaign," sporting director Gil de Ferran said in McLaren's race preview.

"Nevertheless, this will hopefully be another positive step in his development."

Norris enters the penultimate round of the F2 season in Sochi trailing championship leader George Russell by 22 points, having not recorded a victory since the opening race of the year in Bahrain.

Norris is one of three juniors set to appear in FP1 on Friday, with Artem Markelov (Renault) and Antonio Giovinazzi (Sauber) both slated to feature in the 90-minute practice session as well.