George Russell: World champions Mercedes sign teenager from King's Lynn

George Russell finished third in the European Formula 3 championship last season

Briton George Russell has been signed to world champions Mercedes' young driver development programme.

The 18-year-old joins Formula 1 drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon as the third member of the scheme.

Russell, who finished third in the European Formula 3 championship last season, will race in the GP3 feeder series with the leading ART team.

"It's a dream come true," Russell told BBC Radio Norfolk. "The real hard work starts now."

Russell, who lives in King's Lynn, added: "It's quite comforting knowing that if I do the job, I'm quite confident I will get the opportunity from Mercedes to further my career."

Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff said: "George has shown impressive form in the junior categories and we've been keeping a close eye on him for a while now. It's still early days in his career but we see great potential in him."