The Red Bull Driver Search is back and in this week’s Driver Development Roundup you will learn how it operates. I also have explanations on the different paths you can follow to get to Formula 1, the future of F4 in Germany and what it’s like to be a woman on track plus much more!
In the video above, Enzo Mucci explains the different career paths to get to F1 based on his experience in motorsport. “Let’s look at the different ways in which you can reach F1, and what links all drivers that make it.”
In late July, one and a half years after the folding of ADAC Formula 4 and the launch of the ADAC Formel Junior Team to send German drivers to France, French F4 went to Germany for the first time since 2010. Could the partnership between the Fédération Français du Sport Automobile and Germany’s Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club strengthen in the upcoming years? Feeder Series spoke to ADAC Motorsport director Thomas Voss to find out more.
“There is a selection process in the off-season for which interested drivers can apply,” Voss explains. “Drivers are then selected from the applications and receive special conditions for participating in the FFSA F4. [Mathilda] Paatz and Montego Maassen are also part of the ADAC Sports Foundation and receive extensive support in many different ways – financial help, coaching in media, driving skills and fitness and also a proof of career concept, but no classic management.”
You can read more here.
SpeedCafe looks at the Giltrap Group and their support of developing New Zealand race drivers through the Giltrap Motorsport Junior Scholarship. The scholarship, which is taking applications, will give one driver a chance to compete in the GT New Zealand Championship again in 2024/25. There, they’ll race an all-new McLaren Artura GT4.
Read more at SpeedCafe here.
Khushal Bhatia at Slicks and Sticks looks at talent transfer within motorsport.
“Connor Zilisch Earns Max Papis’s Approval: Connor Zilisch‘s recent assertion about his capabilities in Formula One, backed by the esteemed endorsement of Max Papis, raises intriguing questions about the dynamics of talent transfer within motorsport. Papis’s recognition of Zilisch’s versatility highlights not only the young driver’s potential but also the challenges he may face as he shifts from NASCAR and karting to the high-stakes world of F1. As Zilisch navigates this critical crossroads in his career, one must consider the implications of such a bold claim on both his future and the evolving landscape of racing. What lies ahead for this promising talent?”
Read the full article here.
Grassroots Motorsport explains how Autocross does not have to be complicated. “Some attractive numbers from a recent PCA autocross hosted by our local Florida Citrus Region: 30 bucks for six runs, while we were wheels up and heading home by 11:50 that morning.” Read more here.
In the SCCA video above, Stephanie Anderson explains what it’s like to be a woman on track. “Stephanie Andersen is addicted to road racing. From Spec Miata to World Challenge and now SCCA B-Spec competition, her motorsports journey is not only inspiring, it’s also a path anyone can experience if they have the determination. Stephanie discusses a few of her on- and off-track adventures – then we experience a new memory for Stephanie as it happens on camera in a surprise ending that no one could script.”
The Red Bull Driver Search has named two new prospects to its F1 Junior Team as Red Bull explain the idea behind the program.
The search for future champions began on the first week of August in Jerez, Spain. The 11 invited candidates aged between 13-16 years old came from the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Lebanon and Mexico. From this aspiring group, the first drivers selected to join the programme were Fionn McLaughlin and Scott Lindblom.
The three-day event consisted of prospective young drivers trying and testing open-wheel F4 and GP3 racing cars in a shootout format. Their performance was evaluated by Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsports Consultant and Head of the Red Bull Junior Driver programme. “What is important here is that we see most of them for the first time in a Formula car. How they adapt, how quickly they progress and how their improvement is during a 2-day test. We are looking for both talent and speed, a driver to win a Grand Prix. We are really focused on how good these drivers are under pressure and on qualifying simulations.”
“We don’t buy stars, we make stars. We give them the chance – they can use our simulators in Milton Keynes, they will have support with training and nutrition. It’s perfect preparation for Formula 1”, concludes Dr. Marko, a former professional racing driver.
Read more here.
Aslıhan Alp of the Istanbul Chronicle looks at the F1 Academy and its place in driver development.
“I think this is an infrastructure problem. Therefore, I don’t think it is right to ask why there are no female drivers in Formula 1. Why aren’t there any female drivers in Formula 2? Why is there only one female driver, Sophia Flörsch, in Formula 3? Or why are there no female drivers in Formula E, a racing series built entirely on the concept of sustainability? Especially when gender equality is a fundamental pillar of sustainability. The real issue is that there aren’t enough women being trained for them to reach Formula 1,” said Öykü Ceylan, Motorsports Journalist and Commentator.
Read more here.
Motorsport.com has an interesting look at the role of driver managers in the article Who are the Formula 1 drivers’ managers, and what do they do?
“The approach we take is what we call a 360 approach,” Graeme Lowdon, the former CEO of the Virgin and Marussia Formula 1 teams, now runs Equals Management, told Motorsport.com. “That means overseeing anything that can distract a driver from driving a race car, so logistics, contracts negotiations, sponsorship, physio, health and diet, tax structuring and so on. We can’t be experts on all of those so we work with trusted suppliers with those who have experience working in those areas because you can end up with a scenario where you have a driver who is under stress because of some business structure in his life and if you have no control of it, then it is detracting from performance.”
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
