McLaren has signed Dutch kart racer Nyck de Vries to its young driver development programme. The 14-year-old will be managed by Anthony Hamilton and the Hamilton Management Group, who firmly believe in Nyck's status as an up-and-coming junior racer.

"McLaren has a long-held commitment to assisting young talent," said McLaren team principal Martin, "we believe it's part of the responsibility of the motor racing community to encourage and nurture junior racers, and we are committed to doing just that.

"Nyck appears to be a very exciting prospect, and we are looking forward to assisting his junior career, providing him with the support and training he requires to succeed."

"Nyck is an extremely promising youngster," added Anthony Hamilton. "His father Hendrik has been fantastically supportive of Nyck's career, and has been instrumental in raising him up to not just be a great young racing driver, but also a fine young man.

"Together, we both believe that, with the right level of support, we can take his career to the highest level. We'll be working very closely with Dino Chiesa, who will be running Nyck in Italy this year. Dino is an old friend, who previously ran Lewis and Nico Rosberg in Team MBM, so he knows everything about nurturing and developing young talent. We believe this is a very exciting and dynamic partnership."

"My visit to the McLaren Technology Centre has been a fantastic experience," said de Vries, "and I am very honoured and grateful for the support of McLaren in helping to develop my career. The resources they have are incredible, and I believe they'll be able to provide me with the perfect framework for improving my skills, my fitness and my motorsport experience."