Photo: Rodin Motorsport
Rodin Motorsport has signed Belgian karting graduate Thomas Strauven to its Spanish Formula 4 and Formula Winter Series line-ups.
The 15-year-old has one weekend of single-seater racing experience to his name, having joined MP Motorsport for the Spanish F4 round at Jerez last year and come away from the event with a 13th place finish.
He was also one of the finalists in the 2023 Richard Mille Young Talent Academy shootout, which involved driving an F4 car, then drove in various post-season tests in Europe late in the year.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and incredibly grateful to announce my signing with the Rodin Motorsport team to compete in the Spanish F4 championship,” said Strauven.
“Joining such a prestigious team is an honour, and I can’t wait to collaborate with their talented staff and further refine my skills on the track. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has believed in me and made this amazing opportunity possible. I am determined to give my absolute best and strive for success in this new and exciting chapter.”
Strauven raced on OK karts last year, only finishing 30th in the CIK-FIA European championship but being WSK Super Master Series runner-up. The two years before that had been spent primarily in junior karting.
In 2021 he came sixth in the Rotax Max Euro Trophy and eighth in the Rotax Max Golden Trophy for Rotax Junior karts, and second in the IAME I-Games and 11th in the IAME Euro Series for X30 Junior karts, then in 2022 came 10th in the Champions of the Future series, 11th in the European championship and 35th in the World championship for OK Junior karts.
“The Spanish F4 championship is filled with so many amazing talents and we really saw the breadth of this last year,” said Rodin’s Spanish F4 team manager Paul Wallace.
“The team was impressed with Thomas when he made his debut last year in Jerez and I can’t wait to see what he can achieve with a full programme. We have the winter series up first which will give Thomas some valuable time behind the wheel and getting to grips with the circuits he’ll be racing on throughout the season. I look forward to working with him this season.”