Having climbed up through the McLaren Driver Academy, Lando Norris achieved victory as an F1 race winner in Miami.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has teased some new signings to the team’s junior programme which haven’t yet been announced.
Zak Brown has suggested the addition of two undisclosed signings to McLaren’s driver academy, bringing the current total of five drivers to a potential seven.
Zak Brown: More McLaren drivers floating in junior categories
McLaren takes pride in having five talented drivers making their mark in various categories as they progress through the ranks.
One of the individuals is Bianca Bustamante, who is currently competing in the F1 Academy as the team’s female representative in the category.
Gabriel Bartoleto, the reigning Formula 3 Champion, is currently competing for Invicta in the Formula 2 racing series. However, his initial performances in the category just below Formula 1 have been relatively lackluster.
Last year, Ryo Hirakawa joined the programme and currently competes in the World Endurance Championship. On the other hand, Pato O’Ward, the reserve driver, is now driving for the Arrow McLaren squad in IndyCar.
Ugo Ughchukwu, the reigning champion of Euro 4 Championship, is an active member of McLaren since 2021. Currently, he is participating in two Formula Regional championships, namely Middle East and Europe.
During a conversation on the Beyond the Grid podcast, McLaren CEO praised the American prospect and expressed his excitement about the talented individuals he has signed to the McLaren team. He highlighted the successful transformation of junior driver Lando Norris into an F1 race winner.
He chuckled and said, “Obviously, I’m going to include all of them in the program, otherwise, we wouldn’t have them.”
“However, Ugo has been an invaluable member of our team for the longest period of time, consistently delivering exceptional work.”
It’s really exciting that we discovered him outside of karting.
Brown paused, intrigued, as he suddenly became aware that he couldn’t express himself as openly as he had planned. This suggested that there were two additional opportunities in the McLaren program.
He said, “I need to be cautious with my words since I can’t recall if we have officially announced the two drivers on the program.”
“We currently have a few drivers who are part of our team competing in various junior categories.”
“It is fantastic and significant that we discovered Lando at a young age. Oscar, on the other hand, emerged from a different racing academy, proving the effectiveness of these programs.”
It is also known that McLaren has an ongoing option on Brando Badoer, the son of Luca Badoer, who recently joined the Van Amersfoort team for the 2024 FRECA season.
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However, McLaren has teams in different categories such as F1, Formula E, IndyCar, and Extreme E. Brown explained that the driver academy’s objective is not solely to discover drivers who are suitable for the F1 team.
“He said it’s for all of our racing.”
Sam Bird, who has recently recovered from an injury, has just joined the Formula E testing in Berlin.
It is evident that we have our IndyCar drivers, including Pato O’Ward who serves as a reserve driver in Formula 1 and has also participated in Free Practice One.
We will likely have Gabriel Bartoleto, currently in Formula 2, undergo testing in the IndyCar at some stage.
“We aim to provide nourishment for all our racing teams, including IndyCar drivers such as Montoya and Zanardi. In my opinion, IndyCar is an excellent choice, considering the path from Formula 2 to Super Formula in Japan. Personally, I believe IndyCar offers a highly competitive environment, making it an ideal platform for preparation.”
Therefore, I believe they all mutually endorse one another.
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