Photos: KSP Reportages

F1 teams are signing younger drivers as juniors under the logic that early investments provide scope to benefit from greater long-term returns. But they’re not just investments, they’re also ambitious youngsters

Formula Scout’s eye-opening trip into the World Karting Championship paddock this September made one thing abundantly clear like never before: motorsport is more about money than talent, and particularly in karting.

It was over rather than under-exposure to the abundance of money in the industry that made it such a stark realisation. The feel-good stories are about underfunded talents or those without the industry backing that reflects their talent and work ethic, and nobody really celebrates a rich kid being quick. Particularly when others are still quicker than them.

A driver with “a lack of funding” usually means they don’t have access to other people’s money, whether that be sponsors or benefactors. Most self-funded drivers are competing in club racing for fun rather than chasing a racing career with the money they earn from their day jobs, and the money needs to appear before they can race rather than the other way around.

Before the post-pandemic boom of the ‘creator’, gaming and influencer industries, teenagers rarely had jobs providing a level of income they could spend on something as expensive as motorsport. While that has now changed, it’s still parent power that rules in the financial stakes.

More money equals more track time and better equipment, which lead to improved driving and improved results respectively. That ultimately makes those drivers more attractive prospects to sponsor and support since they’re getting the results that makes financial investments in their career worthwhile, and are also further along the development curve than their peers with less track time. The [children of the] rich generally get richer, and faster.

For second-generation talents you then have name appeal and politics getting involved, which can work for or against trying to get their own name known and attracting backers. Even the performance-focused Formula 1 teams aren’t immune to the appeal of being able to boast they have the ‘son or daughter of’ in their ranks.

All of the above factors into how the current crop of karters who are also F1 juniors earned those allegiances, but aren’t factors controlled by the drivers themselves. In fact, they’re a friendly and thankfully quite down-to-earth bunch of teenagers. Let’s introduce them:

Key (2024 stats)

WSK: Champions Cup (CC), Euro Series (Euro), Final Cup (FC), Open Series (OS), Super Master Series (SMS), Super Cup (SC)
CIK-FIA: European championship (CIK European), World championship (CIK Worlds), World Cup (FIA WC), Karting Academy Trophy (FIA Academy Trophy)
Rotax Max Challenge: Euro Trophy (Euro), International Trophy (Int. Trophy), Grand Finals
IAME: Euro Series (Euro), Warriors Final (WF), Winter Cup (WC)
Champions of the Future (CotF)

Dries Van Langendonck McLAREN 14y/o
OK 22nd in Worlds   OK-J CIK European champion, CotF champion, 2nd in WSK CC, 2nd in WSK SMS, 7th in WSK Euro

Photo: McLaren

Van Langendonck won the biggest race in junior karting last year, and was runner-up in Champions of the Future – arguably the biggest series at this level – on second place countback.

There wasn’t really much he could do better in 2024 on an OK Junior kart as older rivals stepped up, and he promptly began the year with second place in the WSK Champions Cup, then won CotF and the CIK-FIA European championship, as well as being runner-up in the very competitive WSK Super Master Series.

His CotF title came despite ‘missing’ the final round at PF International to race in the OK class there instead as he had just turned 14. He finished sixth on debut, putting him 24th in the standings, and on his return to the track a week later he starred in the soaking rain. Van Langendonck’s average finishing position in his heats was 3.6, but he lost ground in his superheat and retired from the final in truly treacherous conditions. The Forza Racing driver had more than made his mark.

“I think it was probably when I won the world championships [that McLaren first got in contact],” he says. “My name got a bit on the radar, so that’s when we started talking with a few people. And mostly the beginning of the year that the big talks were [happening], then it all started to come around.

“I’ve just got a good manager in Infinity Sports Management and they talk about it. And also [McLaren] watch my racing. But it’s mostly through Infinity. I think [my 2025 plan is] OK, at the moment. So at the moment still in senior, then after that we’ll see what we’re going to do.

“[Today’s races was you] probably overtake or be overtaken. That’s how I can only describe it. There was no waiting about whatsoever. But when you’re in this sort of midpack, it’s always going to be tough. But it’s quite funny. And PFI is definitely up there on one of my favourite tracks. Really a good event for the world championship. So I enjoy driving around this track.”

Kenzo Craigie MERCEDES-AMG 14y/o
OK-J World champion, 3rd in CotF, 19th in CIK European  X30 Jr 4th in British championship, 20th in IAME Euro

Photo: Ida Wood

Craigie became the 2024 world champion on OK-J karts in the most dramatic on-track way possible, by colliding with Prema team-mate Noah Baglin at the final corner on the last lap. Baglin did not take the defeat well in the immediate aftermath, having held the lead from lap two onwards in the extreme wet.

At the 2022 British Kartmasters Grand Prix, Craigie won in the Honda Cadet class and was also handed an outing with Argenti Motorsport in the Waterswift class. He impressed team boss Ron Meadows, who is also sporting director of the Mercedes-AMG F1 team, who signed him to his karting team for 2023 and convinced his Mercedes colleagues to do the same.

He has remained with both ever since, and also joined Prema this year so he could race in Europe.

“It’s been really good [at Prema]. They’re a really good team,” Craigie says of the Kart Republic customer squad. Leading the manufacturer on OK karts is Joe Turney, who has lent his hand to helping the OK-J runners but “not necessarily too much”, Craigie adds.

“We already run off our own data, really. Because we don’t really interact with the seniors that much. But everyone in here’s quite fast, so it’s always good to compare against everyone. There were not really targets [for 2024], just do your best. And obviously when you do our best, it’s going to be good. So just that sort of stuff.”

Formula Scout was then the first media to speak to Craigie after he was crowned world champion.

“It’s an amazing feeling, and I can’t think anybody who’s helped me enough,” he said, before referring to his pace advantage in the bridge section of the lap that was key to him hunting down Baglin. “I think everyone just braked a little bit too much and I was able to just carry the speed a little bit more, so yeah, it was good through there.”

“[In the last laps] obviously there’s a lot of pressure, but I was just trying to get my laptimes in. I made a couple of mistakes, but I got there in the end.”

Luna Fluxa MERCEDES-AMG 14y/o
OK 30th in CIK European, 48th in CIK Worlds, 56th in CotF   OK-N currently 1st in CotF Academy Program

Photo: IAME Euro Series

Now also a member of the female-led Iron Dames programme, Fluxa is a refreshingly bouncy character whose enthusiasm for karting rubs off on the people she’s talking to.

Fluxa is part of a motorsport family, since her two older brothers – Lorenzo and Lucas – also race and therefore she’s had two great references to learn from each time she steps up a class on the karting ladder.

Her rookie season at the senior level has lacked in many of the bigger competitions, but she rose 10 places in the opening round of the European championship on home soil at Valencia to finish 11th, with the points earned from that putting her 30th in the standings by season-end.

The new CotF Academy Program series has been where she has shone the most this year, winning two rounds in the OK-N class to lead the points.

James Anagnostiadis MERCEDES-AMG 13y/o
OK-J 2nd in CIK Worlds   OK-N Jr currently 1st in CotF Academy Program

Anagnostiadis wouldn’t have been Europe-bound were it not for sister Aiva being supported by the Alpine F1 team’s Rac(H)er programme. That led to contacts being made on the opposite side of the planet to his home country Australia, and he was very quietly announced (as in not announced at all) as a Mercedes junior in July.

He won a CotF Academy Program event on an OK-N Junior kart last year, and like Mercedes’ other proteges has driven for Argenti and Prema. That did not lead to a single result of note until the world championship, where he had an average finishing position in the heats of 4.2, came third in his superheat and then an unexpected second in the final after misfortune hit others. The result on its own was not enough to put a smile on his face in the press conference afterwards.

“It’s really good,” a deadpan Anagnostiadis said of his surprise result. “I’ve had a pretty tough year. Not really getting any, basically any good results in CotF. And a couple okay finishes in the Europeans. But this is a really good way to end the year. It’s really good to have me and Kenzo both one-two, and hopefully we’re at the front a lot more together.”

“I wasn’t too worried [about the wet]. We had to a couple of good heats in the dry yesterday, and also last weekend had a really good day in the wet. So I wasn’t too stressy if it was wet or dry. But obviously the first couple of laps I was a bit nervous, having been to my first world championship up the front, and sort of overdrove a bit, and then was able to come back at the end of the race.”

Rocco Coronel RED BULL 14y/o
OK-J 3rd in CIK Worlds, 4th in WSK CC, 5th in CotF, 12th in CIK European, 18th in WSK SMS   X30 Jr 4th in IAME WC

Formula Scout understands at least one other F1 team had expressed interest in Coronel before he signed with Red Bull, and that the relationship between his father Tom, Red Bull Junior Team chief Dr Helmut Marko and the Verstappen family were inevitably factors swirling around in the background while Coronel tried to impress Red Bull on track in its shootout test.

Coronel was already a protege of Alpine junior Victor Martins and brother Nicolas, as he drives for their Victory Lane team, and rather unusually for a driver at the junior karting level he already has a recognisable driving style and pattern in his form.

According to Coronel, he had no contact with Red Bull himself until he was at Jerez driving a Formula 4 car at the shootout. The company had first formally approached his father at Zandvoort, but the 1997 Masters Formula 3 champion had already held conversations with Marko about signing his son due to their existing relationship.

The then-13-year-old did not know what to expect when entering the shootout, and Red Bull was as interested in his planned schedule for 2025 as how he was performing on track. Coronel is already Victory Lane’s project, and Red Bull wanted to know if it had any ‘long-term’ plans for him. The team also has connections to ART Grand Prix, where Victor Martins has spent much of his car racing career so far.

“It’s a really good team. It’s a new team in this category,” said Coronel of his karting home. “At the beginning of the year, Valencia was the first time in CotF with this team. New chassis, new engine. Because we normally do OTK, but then we switch over to Kart Republic. And we won the first race. So it’s really, really good performance of the team, and they made everything [they could] to do it.”

As for the on-track outcomes, Coronel has a undeniable habit of coming on strong in longer races, which usually means finals and therefore his strongest results coming in the sessions that matter most and at the biggest events.

“I can be really good with my tyres,” Coronel confirmed to Formula Scout. “Even in qualifying like last time I can be really good, but I’m still improving every time.”

Christopher Feghali RED BULL 15y/o
Rotax Snr RMC Lebanon champion

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Another potentially politically positioned protege signed to the stable of Red Bull. Basically, the usual methods of scouting and selection by Red Bull do not necessarily apply with this very recent addition to its junior team.

Lebanese driver Feghali turned 15 at the end of August and earlier this year joined Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the books of Minardi Management, run by Giovanni Minardi, son of Giancarlo. He comes from a rallying family, as father Abdo, uncle Roger and cousin Alex have all been successful in the discipline, while Abdo has also found fame in drifting with Red Bull sponsorship. Like Carlos Sainz Jr, his path into joining Red Bull has been eased by his family’s existing relationship with the brand.

Feghali Jr has already made his F4 debut with Drivex and last year came 13th in the OK Junior world championship and 20th in the IAME X30 Junior Euro Series. He was Rotax Max Senior champion in Lebanon this year in a grid that never reached 10 karts.

That is not an achievement that would light up the karting press, let alone mainstream media, but Feghali was interviewed in-studio on national television following his crowning and while Red Bull’s announcements of its new juniors last month seemed to come out of nowhere it was already known in Lebanon that Feghali would be becoming an F1 junior and accompanying the press release which confirmed it was a press conference in which he and his family were interviewed.

The political situation in Lebanon has sadly changed since then, with the country being continually bombed by neighbouring Israel and put in a state of national trauma. Prior to that, the energy drinks market had been growing there, Feghali and other young Lebanese athletes had already attracted considerable online followings and a deal such as the one made with Red Bull provided the promotional power for exponential growth to be possible for both parties.

Scott Lindblom RED BULL 14y/o
OK WSK Euro champion, 8th in CotF, 30th in CIK Worlds, NC in CIK European   OK-J 11th in WSK SMS, 32nd in CIK European, 50th in CotF   X30 Jr 12th in IAME Euro

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

The most complete looking of Red Bull’s new crop of karters, Lindblom was third in the world championship, fourth in the WSK Euro Series and 11th in CotF and WSK’s Super Master Series on OK-J karts. Since stepping up up to senior machinery four months ago he has already won the WSK Euro Series title and come eighth in CotF.

He became Euro Series champion last month with more than twice the number of points of the runner-up, having been dominant in round one and near unstoppable in round two. Lindblom will start 2025 in senior karting and look to continue that form, then once he turns 15 it would not be a surprise to see him move into single-seater racing.

At the CIK-FIA World championship last month he was only behind Turney and Thibaut Ramaekers in his qualifying session, finished in the top three on-the-road three times in his heats, was fourth in his superheat but didn’t get a chance to shine in the final as he crashed on the formation lap. He still left Britain that Sunday having set the fastest lap of the weekend.

Fionn McLaughlin RED BULL 16y/o
OK 3rd in CotF, 6th in CIK European, 6th in CIK Worlds   X30 Snr 2nd in IAME Euro, 34th in IAME WC

Photo: Ida Wood

McLaughlin says he didn’t know when Red Bull first got in contact with him when asked by Formula Scout, but added: “They just invited me to this driver search a while back. So I accepted the deal and took on this opportunity.”

In fact, he first met a representative at the inaugural CotF Academy Program event in the UAE last November. Mercedes was very publicly courting talents that weekend, and McLaughlin was runner-up in the OK-N classification. Since he was overlooked, Red Bull came calling early this year and invited McLaughlin to its shootout.

By the time of those test assessments a further few months on, the Irishman was anticipating he’d become a Red Bull junior.

“I just went into it to do my best, and that’s what I did. And I came out with a good impact, so I’m happy with how it ended.”

His strong karting results this year have come with VDK Racing, and he was on course to become IAME Euro Series champion with them before he punctured on the formation lap for the final race of the season.

“It’s really good so far [with VDK]. We’ve had a lot of victories,” he commented, before comparing the significance of his results on X30 karts compared to the FIA-certified OK equipment: “Every race is important, so if you can do your best in every championship, it’s very good.”

Taym Saleh SAUBER 15y/o
OK 35th in CIK European, 64th in CotF

Photo: Sauber Group

Saleh has spent two years as a Sauber junior, but it’s unclear what their plan for him is since its driver development programme seems to lack direction now.

The first time Saleh raced in Sauber’s colours in January 2023 he came third in the WSK Champions Cup on OK-J karts, and he was still looking fast at the end of the year as in the world championship he topped his qualifying group, won two heats but had a big crash in the final after running in ninth.

He was also WSK Euro Series runner-up, came 11th in the European championship, 16th in CotF and 23rd in WSK’s Super Master Series.

Since stepping up to OK karts, the results have been harder to come by as he has spent a lot less time on track than previously. Saleh began 2024 in Sauber’s own team, switched to Ricky Flynn Motorsport during summer but has rarely been seen racing.

Sasha Bondarev WILLIAMS 15y/o
OK WSK CC winner, 2nd in WSK SMS, 19th in CotF, 19th in CIK Worlds, 26th in CIK European   X30 Snr 31st in IAME WC

Photo: Williams

Bondarev is on this list since his graduation to F4 only occurred recently, and he was signed by Williams over a year ago.

He is another talent to profit from Prema’s expansion into karting (since its squad was set up to run F1 juniors before adding the likes of Baglin), and was first profiled by Formula Scout in March 2022.

Since then the Ukrainian has established himself as a consistent frontrunner in junior and then senior karting, impressively bouncing back from a broken leg during his breakthrough 2022 season in the former.

After he was signed by the WH Sports management stable that guides the careers of Ferrari protege Ollie Bearman, it was clear his career was in good hands and that he would find himself with some good opportunities to climb the racing ladder.

The fact an F1 team came calling before he had even driven a car was an added bonus, and Bondarev’s strong grasp of English from an early age has actually made him an easier driver to converse with than many of his British peers since he has a warm personality.

One thing Bondarev may have to look out for is whether he continues to grow. He is already of a height and build well suited to his transition to cars, but should he get any taller it could become a disadvantage.

Dean Hoogendoorn WILLIAMS 12y/o
OK-J 3rd in WSK SMS, 6th in WSK Euro, 7th in WSK CC, 10th in CotF, 15th in CIK European, 55th in CIK Worlds

Photo: Williams

Champion of Germany on mini karts in 2022 then WSK Euro Series champion on OK-N Junior karts in 2023, Hoogendoorn began 2024 as one of the most exciting graduates from the mini karting scene and with junior results to prove the hype.

The Dutch youngster began this year by coming seventh in the WSK Champions Cup, and followed that up with third in WSK SMS and 15th in the European championship. His 10th place in the CotF standings was an impressive position, and more recently he came sixth in the WSK Euro Series. It will be interesting to see how he grows with his 2025 programme.

Sara Matsui WILLIAMS 13y/o
OK 76th in CIK Worlds, 116th in CotF   OK-J 123rd in CotF   OK-N Jr 6th in WSK CC, 11th in WSK SMS, currently 12th in CotF Academy Program

Photo: Williams

The Japanese karter made the longlist of drivers (but not the final) for the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s Ferrari Driver Academy-affiliated Girls on Track Rising Stars shootout in 2022. That year she also came third in Japanese championship for junior karts.

In 2023 she attended the inaugural CotF Academy Program event, coming eighth in the OK-N Junior final, and alongside a full season in that for 2024 earned a factory Kart Republic seat. Racing three different classes of kart may have provided plenty of learning opportunities, but changing teams and categories has done little to help results and particularly in the more competitive series.

Williams’ wildcard signing

During the writing of this piece, Williams announced 10-year-old Lucas Palacio as a junior during the United States Grand Prix weekend. The American used an age waiver, a way of bypassing minimum age requirements (which exist across all sports primarily in the name of safety), to make his mini karting debut in 2022 and has since picked up an impressive roster of results. But he is still only 10 – two years younger than the next-youngest driver on this list.

More from karting
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Marsh’s defensive masterclass denies Mercedes juniors in CotF finale

The post Introducing the karters who are already F1 juniors appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Sauber Group

The addition of a new driver to Sauber’s young driver development programme and its karting team was one of the big talking points of the WSK Champions Cup weekend.

Joining Formula 2 star Theo Pourchaire and GB3 race-winner Roberto Faria in Sauber’s academy is Taym Saleh, a German teenager who is going into his third season of junior karting.

In 2021 he was third in the ADAC Kart Masters and 11th in the German championship for OK Junior karts, then last year he was third in the WSK’s Open Cup, 10th in the Champions Cup and 16th in the Euro Series. He was also 18th in the CIK-FIA World championship and 20th in the Champions of the Future series.

His time with Sauber started on a high this weekend at South Garda as Saleh finished third in the Champions Cup’s OK-J final behind the dominant Lewis Wherrell and Niklas Schaufler.

Wherrell topped qualifying and won all three of his heats, with Niklas Schaufler, Saleh and Iacopo Martinese winning the other three, then he dominated his pre-final.

The second pre-final was won by new factory Kart Republic driver Sasha Bondarev, which put him fourth on the grid for the final behind Wherrell, Dries van Langendonck and Filippo Sala.

There was no question of who was going to win the final, although Sala gave Wherrell a challenge early on which kept the front six tightly packed. Once Sala made a big mistake though, Wherrell started to pull away and Ukrainians Lev Krutogolov and Bondarev moved into second and third.

WH Sports-managed Bondarev passed his compatriot halfway through the race, with Schaufler following him past Krutogolov who like Sala started to tumble down the order. But Bondarev then made a mistake, leading to a condensed fight for second again and enabling Schaufler to get through.

Photo: Sportinphoto

As the top two broke a way a battle between Kart Republic’s drivers and Saleh heated up over third place. Saleh resisted several laps of pressure from a queue of karts, just about holding off Kart Republic’s Mercedes-AMG F1 junior Luna Fluxa and Sala.

Sauber’s only other karter is Miguel Costa, who is now in his fourth season with the team but is not one of its F1 juniors. He finished 22nd in the Champions Cup’s OK final on his debut in the senior kart category. Sauber is yet to confirm either driver’s programme of events for the year.

The first final at South Garda was for X30 Junior karts, and despite making an awful start Riccardo Ferrari was able to win for Zanchi Motorsport.

He spent most of the race battling with Sacha van’t Pad Bosch, but the Dutch protege of FIA Formula 3 champion Victor Martins was never in victory contention due to a five-second penalty for jumping the start.

Angolan karter Lorenzo Campos led early on before Ferrari and then Tiziano Kuzhinni came through.

Kuzhinni had the pace to pass Ferrari too, and the latter then spent the next laps sat right behind but not willing to make a move. He finally darted by with three laps to go, and Kuzhinni responded on the next lap but only momentarily held the lead.

That fight allowed van’t Pad Bosch to close right in for the final lap and there was a photo finish between the three. Ferrari won by 0.049 seconds, with van’t Pad Bosch 0.114s behind before his penalty.

That dropped him to sixth behind Victory Lane’s debuting Rocco Coronel – son of 1999 Super Formula champion and 2022 TCR Europe runner-up Tom – and Clovis Nougueyrede.

While the track action took much of the weekend attention, ahead of the event there were two major announcements.

Brando Pozzi won the WSK Champions Cup X30 Senior final by 0.005s

The poleman led early on from Pacome Weisenburger, who led some laps before losing a four-way final corner fight. Federico Rossi then rivalled Pozzi, who defended the last lap before Rossi tried a last corner move pic.twitter.com/0ogSie7rbg

— Formula Scout Karting (@KartingScout) January 29, 2023

The first was about the FIA’s new International Karting Ranking that has just come into effect. The logarithmic ranking will position drivers based on their results in FIA and non-FIA races across the world in many kart categories, and aims to limit “unrecognised competitions” and use driver experience for entry eligibility.

It is inspired by the ATP tennis rankings, and follows TCR’s recent adoption of a ranking for its touring car drivers worldwide. The FIA’s own competitions will be weighed at the highest coefficient for scoring points, followed by likes of Rotax and X30 kart competitions in ‘Category 2’ and mini karting in ‘Category 3’.

The second announcement was that the the racing debut of the new OK-N and OJN-Junior kart categories has been postponed from next week’s WSK Super Master Series opener to the first round of the WSK Euro Series at the end of August “due to ongoing tests by the teams for the technical preparation”. A global FIA contest for OK-N is set to arrive in 2024.

OK-N is a restricted engine that is forming the basis of a cheaper but heavier alternative to OK and OK-J karting, with the FIA intending to have more national championships take on ‘OK’ karts with the new OK-N ruleset.

Results round-up
OK-Junior final (17 laps)
1 Lewis Wherrell Forza Racing [Exprit] 14m00.654s
2 Niklas Schaufler DPK Racing [KR] +2.292s
3 Taym Saleh Sauber Academy [KR] +5.082s
4 Luna Fluxa Kart Republic [KR] +5.362s
5 Filippo Sala Sodikart [Sodikart] +5.503s
6 Stepan Antonov Kart Republic [KR] +6.805s
7 Sasha Bondarev Kart Republic [KR] +7.042s
8 Iacopo Martinese Kart Republic [KR] +7.267s
9 Dries van Langendonck Energy Corse [Energy Corse] +8.458s
10 Simon Rechenmacher TB Racing [KR] +8.603s
Fastest lap: Sala, 48.658s

X30 Junior final (17 laps)
1 Riccardo Ferrari Zanchi Motorsport [Tony Kart] 14m21.995s
2 Tiziano Kuzhnini Team Driver [Tony Kart] +0.049s
3 Lorenzo Campos Team Drive [Tony Kart] +2.062s
4 Rocco Coronel Victory Lane [Redspeed] +2.671s
5 Clovis Nougueyrede Victory Lane [Redspeed] +3.551s
6 Sacha van’t Pad Bosch Victory Lane [Redspeed] +5.114s
7 Christian Romeo Giovanni Romeo [Tony Kart] +5.203s
8 Fabio Reale LA Motorsport [Falcon] +5.278s
9 Alberto Fulgori Jr [Kosmic] +12.042s
10 Paolo Tizzano DK Racing [IPK] +16.570s
FL: Coronel, 49.800s

The post Sauber’s new junior one of many talking points at WSK Champions Cup appeared first on Formula Scout.