McLaren have made 11-year-old Harry Williams their youngest ever signing to the Driver Development Programme, surpassing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who joined at 13.
Williams, from Nether Alderley in Cheshire, started karting in 2021 and has already claimed the 2025 British Open Champion title, the O plate win in the Italian Waterswift Series, and a fifth-place finish in the European Waterswift Championship.
Ella Hakkinen, daughter of double F1 world champion Mika, at 14 had been the youngest current driver on the programme. Reigning champion Lando Norris also progressed through the scheme, joining at 17.
Alessandro Aluni Bravi, McLaren's chief business affairs officer, said: 'Our goal is to build a consistent pipeline, laddering into our race programmes in F1, IndyCar and the World Endurance Championship for many years to come, and adding Harry as a talented young karter demonstrates this. For this driver, I think there is no target, no pressure other than enjoy karting to get maximum experience, but also to understand what does it mean to be a McLaren driver.'
Williams expressed his excitement: 'I am really excited to join the McLaren driver development programme. They're known for developing talent, so it's great to join the team as I continue to progress in karting and into single-seater racing in the future.'