The 16-year-old marked his series debut with a second-place finish in the opening race at Aragon.

But the Josef Kaufmann Racing driver took wins in the next two races to leave his mark on the competition and go top of the standings.

The delighted ADD Motorsports-supported racer said: “It was a great weekend and really good start to the season.

“I got off to a solid start in the first race, but was really pleased to go on and get the two wins.

“The team did a brilliant job; all of the cars were really fast all weekend.”

Lando, who took the MSA Formula Championship title last season and New Zealand Toyota Racing Series title in February, was on the pace straight away during the Friday practice sessions.

He took this pace into qualifying on Saturday, finishing top of his session. But with the second session faster, it left him starting in second place for the first two races.

The Somerset driver got off to a good start in the first race, but was unable to get in front of the leader. 

After a yellow flag he slowed down slightly and lost some ground and was unable to close the gap during the remainder of the race – finishing in second place.

It started to rain at the start of the second race, but Lando got a good start, getting in front and then pulling away. 

The safety car was called into service, but the teen got a good restart and defended well before pulling away again.

In slippery conditions, he then used all his experience to ensure he stayed in the lead and came home for a well-deserved victory.

The final qualifying session saw Lando in the faster second group this time, which again saw him post the fastest time. This time, however, it was enough to get him his first pole position.

Another good start saw him get a good gap early on in the final race and while he was forced to defend a few corners later on he held on well. He eventually got a good gap before pulling away for a second win. 

Lando leads the standings on 68 points heading into the next meeting - an exciting one-race event as the curtain raiser for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix.

He added: “There are some good drivers in the series and there’s a long way to go, but I’m really happy with how the opening weekend went.

“It puts me in a great place going to Monaco and sets the season up nicely.”