McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier has tipped young driver Lando Norris as a "star of the future" after a highly-impressive first test appearance for the British team in Hungary on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old emerged as one of the big sub-stories to the return of Robert Kubica, as he surprised everyone by setting the second best time on the day, just a quarter of a second slower than pace-setter Sebastian Vettel, and was actually faster than either Stoffel Vandoorne or Fernando Alonso achieved in qualifying as he used the ultra-soft tyre compound.

Currently racing in European F3, Norris has won five races and secured five other podiums to sit second in the standings and his achievement at the Hungaroring didn’t go unnoticed.

“Lando has impressed us all with his maturity, professionalism and speed, and has got to grips very quickly with the car in only his first outing in the MCL32,” said Boullier.

“His feedback with the engineers has been valuable and accurate, and he’s certainly an asset to our test driver lineup – not to mention a potential star of the future.”

Norris joined the program after winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC award last year. This followed championship wins in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and the Toyota Racing Series all in just one year.

Unsurprisingly, the Bristolian was delighted by his own performance after sampling the 2017 car for the first time. 

“It’s been a really good day – and a very productive one for all of us,” he said. “I managed to get through all the tests that the team asked me to complete, and everything went well.

“Getting used to the car was a bit of a challenge at first, but by the end of the day, I felt very comfortable. I got a lot of laps under my belt and I really enjoyed the experience.

“Finally, I want to say a big thanks to the team for giving me this opportunity. Hopefully, it will be the first of many!”