AKM Motorsport will return to Italian Formula 4 at Mugello this weekend with two car racing debutants: Taylor Barnard and Lorenzo Patrese.
Both drivers recently participated in the in-season Mugello test with AKM, which is a tie-up between Antonelli Motorsport and Dino Chiesa’s Kart Republic.
The team entered the Italian F4 season opener with Rosberg’s Chinese protege Cenyu Han, before he switched to Van Amersfoort Racing.
Barnard has been racing in karts for the Rosberg Racing Academy headed by 2016 Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg and operated by Kart Republic.
The 15-year-old Briton finished second in the CIK-FIA European Karting Championship this year behind Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose father Marco owns Antonelli Motorsport.
Patrese is the son of 1992 F1 world championship runner-up Riccardo, who like his father started off in equestrian events before switching his focus to karting and then single-seaters.
He finished 16th in the WSK Super Master Series this year, also driving for Kart Republic, and is making his F4 debut now as he was not old enough to at the start of the season and has also seen out most of his karting commitments.
After several impressive tests, Francesco Braschi will finally make his Italian F4 debut with Jenzer Motorsport, while Mexican driver Santiago Ramos returns to the series as his team-mate after contesting three rounds last season.
The last addition to the Mugello entry list is Vittorio Catino, who signed with Cram Motorsport at the start of 2020 but has also been waiting until he was old enough to race. The Italian raced in junior karts last year, and has tested several times with Cram in preparation for his car racing debut.