This week I have details on the annual Porsche driver development workshop held for young racers. I also have tips on how to build yourself into a champion, how to deal with performance anxiety, Jamie Chadwick’s plans for developing female racers and how to get to NASCAR. It’s all in this week’s edition of the Driver Development Roundup on Motorsport Prospects.
In the video above, Enzo Mucci explains how to build yourself into a champion. “To achieve your goals and dreams in life, you must be the kind of person who can actually achieve them. This is where you focus must be. Build that person!”
Kyle Dager of The Money Lap explains the crucial role that confidence can play in motorsport. “How much is confidence worth to a race car driver? According to Parker Kligerman in the latest episode of The Money Lap, it’s at least a few tenths every lap. Confidence is something every driver can struggle with. Even the goats struggle with slumps and winless streaks.”
Episode 36 of the Motorsport Sponsorship Podcast features psychologist and Olympian Caroline Anderson who explains how to deal with performance anxiety. In this episode:
- Explore the high cognitive demands of motorsport and how to manage external influences.
- Learn from the experiences of top athletes like Lydia Lassela and Scott McLaughlin.
- Discover strategies to manage and normalize performance anxiety, focusing on the “what if,” fear of judgment, and self-doubt thoughts.
- Understand the body’s flight or fight response and its connection to anxiety in young athletes.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Porsche Motorsport North America hosted its Porsche Driver Development Workshop was held over two days at the headquarters of Team Penske, factory partner to Porsche in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP class.
Drivers received valuable career experience both hands-on and in sessions with experts from the disciplines of physical training, nutrition, technology, media and career planning. The workshop, eligible only to Porsche EBOOST North America Junior Program and Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program North America drivers, took place July 18 – 19.
Ethan Jeff-Hall, points leader in entry-level sportscar series Ginetta Junior, earned a FEED Racing France shootout spot en route to winning last weekend’s Rotax Max Challenge International Trophy. The annual shootout, organised by 1997 Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Lemarie, uses first-generation Formula 4 cars and awards a French F4 seat to its winner. Read more at Formula Scout.
The National Motorsport Academy (NMA) has announced a partnership with the Global Karting League (GKL) as their official Education Partner, marking a major step towards widening educational opportunities for young people aged 6-16 within the motorsport industry.
As part of GKL’s STEM Learning Programme, racers receive a free formal education, including race coaching and data analytics, alongside comprehensive training modules in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM). These modules are designed not only to enhance technical skills but also to provide a strong educational background that can be applied to various career paths within and outside of motorsport.
Forbes has a great article on how Indy NXT racer Jamie Chadwick is working on building a new pipeline to the top of motorsports for women. “Acutely aware of her position as a role model, Chadwick is leveraging her success to create tangible pathways for more women to enter the sport. She’s advocating for a complete reimagining of the motorsport pipeline, from grassroots to the highest levels. This commitment is evident in her karting initiative, which aims to encourage more girls and young women into the sport, where currently just 13% of participants are female. “I really want more women,” she says, adding, “I think we should have more and more young girls starting in the Indy feeder series, getting through Indy NXT.””
In Formula 1’s latest episode of their Beyond the Grid podcast, F2 and F3 CEO Bruno Michel tells host Tom Clarkson about how he built the ladder to Formula 1, why Hamilton and Leclerc particularly stood out, and his prior work as manager to drivers including Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber.
As F1 teams look to sign stars for the 2025 season, Bruno explains why future Haas driver Ollie Bearman is ready to step up to the top level, and what Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli can do to claim his place in F1.
Plus, he also talks about how F1 ACADEMY will become a pathway to F3 and beyond.
You can listen to the podcast here.
With Ollie Bearman’s success putting the series in the spotlight, Feeder Series looks at whether this success will translate into the GB3 Championship finding a stable identity as a go-to series to help young drivers to get to Formula 1.
“As was announced last month, GB3 is introducing a new car for the 2025 season. The Tatuus MSV GB3-025 conforms to the new Formula Regional technical requirements and takes inspiration from the current generation of F1 cars. It is part of the series’ goal to become the leading series on the rung of the ladder below F3 alongside an even more international calendar. With it could come more cameos from drivers looking for direct preparation for F3.”
Nilavro Ghosh in The Sports Rush explains how to become a modern-day NASCAR driver. “Apart from performing consistently, one has to have the ability to pull in sponsorships. Motorsports is expensive and racing without sponsors from the ARCA Menards Series is quite difficult. A driver can then join a development program that teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and other race teams offer. Performing well in these development programs will be key.”
Finally, while a proposal to feature wildcard entries for rookie drivers in F1 has been rejected, The Race reveals that a standalone young driver F1 race proposal is being discussed.
“The idea, which still requires a huge amount of detail to be considered, would be for a mini-event in the days after the season finale involving practice, qualifying and a sprint race. It would be in addition to the usual one-day post-season Abu Dhabi test, where teams run two cars, one of which is for the sole purpose of giving young drivers track time.”
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.
