Stroll says Daytona outing unlikely to be "useful" for Norris

Norris, Stroll’s successor as European Formula 3 champion, will make his debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship blue riband event in January.

The 17-year-old will share a United Autosports Ligier JS P217 with Fernando Alonso and Phil Hanson in what McLaren hopes will be a valuable learning experience.

Stroll contested the Daytona event last year in a Chip Ganassi-run Ford-Riley DP alongside Alexander Wurz, Brendon Hartley and Andy Priaulx, finishing fifth.

But the Canadian said the race was just for fun and didn't think it was particularly beneficial for his development.

“It’s a great race and super-cool, but I don’t think it’s really useful,” said Stroll when asked by Motorsport.com. “I don’t know if it’s beneficial or not.

"I just had a great time and it’s a blast, especially when you have a good car and you have good teammates, it really makes it a fun race, and a good race.

“It’s something different and it’s always cool to drive other cars. It’s a great week, the whole week leading up to it, the Roar [pre-event test], and the race itself.

"I had a lot of pleasure doing it. It’s a different car, a different everything, I was just in it for the fun of doing it, and not much more.”

Despite enjoying his maiden sportscar racing outing, Stroll says he is in no hurry to go back to Daytona.

“I would do it again for sure if I had some time on my hands," he said. "There are other priorities in off-season time, and doing other things rather than driving race cars can be good sometimes.”