Saturday November 7, 2009
F1 team to help groom young drivers and engineers
1Malaysia F1 Team to help groom F1 talents
PETALING JAYA: The 1Malaysia Formula One (F1) team is all geared up to groom young drivers and engineers, and develop a talent pool for Malaysian motorsports.
“The plan now is to encourage more parents to get their children into go-karting with two driver development programmes,” said team principal Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.
Off you go: Fernandes flagging off go-kart drivers during the ‘Go-kart for Young Drivers’ event organised by Lotus F1 Racing at Speedway Plus circuit at the USJ Rest & Recreation Area in Petalling Jaya yesterday while Riad looks on. — Bernama “One of the issues we have in Malaysia is where do our go-kart drivers go from here?
“All world championships started in go-kart,” he told a press conference after visiting a junior go-kart programme at the Speedway PLUS circuit yesterday.
Fernandes said there was a need to nurture potential talent by boosting the number of go-kart circuits, which numbered fewer than 10 compared with 50 to 60 in Europe.
The founder of successful low-cost carrier AirAsia said junior drivers needed to have a “ladder” to reach F1 racing.
The two driver development programmes will develop about 20 drivers yearly. Young drivers will be sent to either European or Asian circuits for more experience, depending on their talents and standing in the programmes.
Fernandes said the team would also collaborate with local university students to scout for engineering talent through an internship programme, before incorporating them into the team on a full-time basis.
He said the programme would be announced in the next few weeks by Lotus Formula One chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne and team chief executive officer Riad Asmat.
Gascoyne also indicated 30 Malaysians would be sent to its facility in Norfolk in Britain early next year, for two-to-three years’ training in various F1 technical fields.
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