Photo: Sebastiaan Rozendaal / DPPA
Karting superstar Rene Lammers will make the step up to single-seaters next year with MP Motorsport.
The 15-year-old will be part of MP’s line-up for the Formula Winter Series, which takes place in Spain through February and March of next year, then will contest the Spanish Fomula 4 championship with the team.
Lammers is the son of Dutch former F1 racer Jan, and this year’s CIK-FIA European champion on OK karts. He was also World Karting Championship runner-up, came third in the WSK Super Master Series and 11th in the Champions of the Future series.
In October he made it to the Ferrari Driver Academy’s annual Scouting World Final, of which a winner is still yet to be named. MP’s announcement states that Lammers won the fourth running of the event.
“Negotiations with MP Motorsport were underway when they seemed thwarted by interest from Ferrari. In consultation with MP, it was decided that this was an opportunity to take seriously,” the team stated. “The FDA organised two Scouting Camps, the last of which was the World Finals. Lammers won this competition, but a multi-year deal did not materialise. For now, he prefers to remain independent for as long as he can.”
Lammers himself said that “working with MP Motorsport was always our plan A” for 2024.
“MP has an exceptional track record and races for podiums in all single-seater series it competes in, so I’m looking forward to making my motorsport debut with MP. The Spanish F4 championship is a competitive series and a great stepping stone to the next steps on the single-seater ladder.
“It’s important for me to know that MP has an equally strong presence in all these series – from the Formula Regional European Championship to Formula 3 and Formula 2. Moreover, as a Dutchman, it is nice to be working with a Dutch team.”
MP’s team principal Sander Dorsman added: “We are proud to give Rene his first race miles in [single-seaters]. Rene has turned out to be a huge talent in karting, with a trophy cabinet you can take your hat off to. During the first tests, it was soon apparent that he knows how to effortlessly transfer his pace to single-seaters. With our experience as winners in F4, we hope to contribute to René’s foundation as a racing driver capable of aiming high in the feeder series on the way to F1.”