Has the new Norris already emerged?
Pau might not be the most representative round of the Formula 3 European Championship, but it's the ideal place to assess which of the rookies is the next Lando Norris - and the answer is someone with a lot in common with last year's champion
The Pau Grand Prix has a reputation as the most dramatic and, well, random round of the Formula 3 European Championship.
And its status this season as the opening event meant that everyone in the paddock had pretty much written off any hope of discovering who will be the major 2018 title contenders until round two at the Hungaroring.
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Marcus Simmons is the Deputy Editor of Autosport magazine. As a child he was a regular on the chalk banks of Thruxton – hence his unhealthy obsession with 1970s Formula 2 and F3 – before he became an MSA timekeeper at the age of 17. At 19, his reporting debut for Motoring News arguably overshadowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal as the sporting moment of June 1986, and he joined the staff in 1990 after graduating from his degree course in Plymouth. A parallel Formula First career – which was as incident-packed as his childhood exploits in show-jumping and hunter trials – finished when he wrote off his car and put himself in hospital in 1991.
Marcus moved to Autosport in the summer of 1996. Since then he has had two stints as a freelancer and a brief spell as editor of Motor Sport magazine, during which the revered green cover was revived, before he rejoined Autosport in 2008. He lives in Teddington with his wife (who, gratifyingly, grew up within earshot of Castle Combe), daughter, stepson, dog, cat and guitars, and additionally has an adult daughter and stepson.
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