To achieve his dream of becoming an F1 driver, the 17-year-old Christian Ho moved to Europe when he was 10 and has since chalked up several major achievements. - PHOTO: DUTCH PHOTO AGENCY
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): As excitement for the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix picks up with the race arriving in Singapore this week, there is also reason to celebrate for local driver Christian Ho.
The 17-year-old is taking a significant step towards his dream of racing in Formula One with a move to F3 imminent next season.
Christian, who announced the news on Sept 16, will be the first Singaporean to race in F3, which is two rungs below F1 in the International Automobile Federation’s (FIA) Global Pathway from karting to the sport’s pinnacle.
Details of which F3 team he is joining are expected to be announced at a later date.
The F3 season typically takes place on the sidelines of F1 circuits, including some iconic venues such as England’s Silverstone, Monaco’s street circuit and the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
He will be making the step up from the Eurocup-3 series, which serves as a stepping stone for drivers between F4 and F3. Three-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Azerbaijian Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri of McLaren – who was crowned F3 champion in 2020 – are some of the F1 stars who have come through F3.
Christian said: “I’m really excited to secure my seat in F3 next year. I’ve learnt a lot from competing in the F4 and Eurocup-3, and those experiences will definitely help as I take on this new challenge.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey especially being far away from my family and balancing studying and racing at the same time.”
In his rookie Eurocup-3 season with Campos Racing, Ho currently sits second among 32 in the driver’s standings with 164 points after six rounds, with Spaniard Javier Sagrera top with 192 points.
Each round has two races except the June 7 to 9 Partimao event in Portugal, which had three.
The Singaporean driver has won three races and finished on the podium six times so far, and with two more events left in the season, Christian’s Campos Racing are second in the team standings, with 328 points and 88 behind leaders MP Motorsport.
While he acknowledged that it will not be easy, Christian is eager to take on a new challenge in F3.
He said: “F3 is going to be a whole new ball game with better, faster drivers and while it’s going to get harder from here, I know I can make it. I’m ready to learn, ready to take things to the next level and keep getting better.
“All F3 races will be shown live on TV before the F1 races, I really hope that with more exposure, more Singaporeans as well as local sponsors will be able to catch me in action and support my quest to become the first Singaporean F1 driver.”
Christian Ho currently sits second among 32 in the driver’s standings in the Eurocup-3 series. - PHOTO: DUTCH PHOTO AGENCY
To achieve his dream of becoming an F1 driver, he moved to Europe when he was 10 and has since chalked up several major achievements, including becoming the first Asian driver to win a race in the Deutsche Kart Meisterschaft (DKM) German Karting Championship series.
The karting series is one of the biggest in Europe, with previous winners including F1 legend Michael Schumacher and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
After a promising karting career, which also included second-place finishes in the FIA Karting Academy Trophy and the German Junior championship in OK-Junior karts in 2019, he moved up to F4 in 2022.
He finished second in the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship with five wins and 13 podium finishes, before stepping up to the Eurocup-3 a year later.
Christian is among several young Singaporean drivers making their way up in the international motorsports scene.
In April, Kabir Anurag became the first Singaporean to be recruited by Alpine F1 Team’s driver development programme and is currently racing in F4.
Noting that Christian has “achieved a remarkable feat”, Motor Sport Singapore president Winson Ow said: “He has adapted well to the challenges of racing over the past few years and we are confident he will thrive in this next stage of his journey as well. We hope this raises the level of interest and support for motor sports and our local drivers.” - The Straits Times/ANN
