Photo: Malcolm Griffiths / FIA F3 Championship
The Ferrari Driver Academy is launching a new base of operations in Australia to focus on finding Asian and Oceanic talent.
A total of 24 nations – including North Korea – will be part of the FDA’s Motorsport Australia-fronted Oceania division, which follows previous arrangements with Italian counterpart federation ACI Sport and kart manufacturer Tony Kart.
Drivers aged between 14 and 17 will be eligible to participate in the talent assessments at Sydney Motorsport Park, which will utilise the Mygale Formula 4 chassis that were raced in the now-defunct Australian F4 championship.
?Today?s signing with Motorsport Australia, after the partnerships already established with the Italian motoring federation ACI and with Karting world powerhouse TonyKart, is a key step forward in our scouting strategy in order to ensure that we continue to secure the best talent of the future,” said FDA head and former FIA man Laurent Mekies.
?We have a long standing relationship with our friends at Motorsport Australia, and we trust that together we will build a fantastic selection program for the region that will inspire and attract many young drivers.?
The best drivers from those assessments each year are then given further track time under the watch of the FDA and Motorsport Australia to decide on the best two to send to Ferrari’s Fiorano test track.
Once at the Italian circuit, they will compete against similar age drivers from across the world to earn FDA membership for the next year and a F4 seat in Europe. Previous recipients of such support through FDA-affiliated schemes include Italian F4 race-winner Gianluca Petecof and reigning Swedish Kart champion Dino Beganovic.