McLaren CEO Zak Brown insists the team will give Lando Norris time to settle in before assessing his performance.
The young Briton has enjoyed a rapid rise through the motorsport ranks winning in European Formula 3 in 2017 before finishing second to George Russell in F2 last year.
Having joined McLaren’s young driver program in early 2017, Norris has now earned his opportunity in F1 but does face having to avoid the same fate as Stoffel Vandoorne who arrived as a highly-rated talent but failed to deliver.
“Formula 1 can be a pretty cruel environment,” Brown warned speaking to The Sun newspaper.
“We need to manage expectations, not after three races and pass judgment, which we as a sport are pretty quick to do.
“He will definitely be given time to develop. It is a high-pressure environment and the first thing anyone does in F1 is compare you to your teammate.”
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While Vandoorne had the challenge of Fernando Alonso alongside him, Norris faces perhaps a more attainable level against Carlos Sainz, a driver who is also highly-rated but is yet to get his big chance.
“We expect them to race each other hard, cleanly and, for sure, they need to get the measure of each other from time to time,” the McLaren boss added.