Photo: Williams
Williams has announced Alessandro Giusti and Sara Matsui as two new members of its Formula 1 junior team.
Giusti joins the Williams Racing Driver Academy after coming sixth in the Formula Regional European Championship standings as a rookie last year, while Matsui is a star of Japan’s karting scene.
It has also been announced that Giusti will move from G4 Racing to ART Grand Prix for his second season in FREC.
“We’re delighted to announce Alessandro and Sara as the newest members of the WRDA,” said Williams’ sporting director Sven Smeets.
“Alessandro has demonstrated great ability behind the wheel in both French Formula 4 and last year in FREC, with impressive performances in qualifying and races.
“Sara is one of the rising stars in karting, delivering promising results in her home country of Japan and being a 2022 Girls on Track Rising Stars Finalist. We look forward to supporting their development as they go racing in 2024 and beyond.”
Giusti spent two years in French F4, coming sixth in the standings with two victories as a rookie and then winning the 2022 title with a total of two race victories, 12 podiums and six poles. He already has three wins and two poles to his name in FREC.
“I’m so excited to be joining the WRDA,” said the 17-year-old Frenchman. “It really feels special to be joining such a prestigious F1 team. I cannot wait to start this journey and work closely with the team on my development.”
He added that he was “delighted” to be joining ART GP for his sophomore FREC campaign.
“We built up momentum during the winter test sessions and I quickly developed a very good feeling within the team. In 2024, our objective is clear: we must aim for the title. This winter I’m going to pull out all the stops in my physical and mental preparation to get to the top of my game right from the first race.”
ART GP team principal Sebastien Philippe said his team “followed Alessandro’s progress closely” through 2023 and when he began testing with them in November “his feedback matched our expectations perfectly”.
Matsui is still only 13 years old, and 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 Champions of the Future Academy Program event in the UAE, competing on OK-N Junior karts and coming eighth overall. This year she will be a factory Kart Republic driver on OK Junior karts and also compete in the six-round CotF Academy Program season.
“It’s an honour to be part of the WRDA and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be working with such an historic team,” said Matsui. “I’m looking forward to building my experience in Europe and I can’t wait for the season to start.”