The finalists have been chosen to take part in the FDA Scouting World Finals, which is scheduled to be held in Maranello next week. The final selection will be made from the best six who have come through the previous phases, held in various parts of the world. They are aged between 14 and 16 and they will go up against each other in Maranello and Fiorano during a four-day trial, with the goal of receiving a place in the FDA (Ferrari Driver Academy).
Organisation. As was the case in the last few seasons, the Ferrari Driver Academy’s main scouting effort has relied on support from various partners: Tony Kart covered the huge field of candidates from the karting world, the most popular junior form of racing, ACI Sport monitored single-seater racing in Europe, Escuderia Telmex covered the whole of Latin America and Motorsport Australia was tasked with scouting in the Asia-Pacific region.
The six drivers. One is from Europe, the Finn Tuukka Taponen, born in 2006, who already took part in last year’s Scouting World Finals and who has finished second in this year’s OK class world championship. From the United Arab Emirates, Rashid Al Dhaheri, born in 2008 is currently showing great form in karting. Australians Jack Beeton (14 years old) and Gianmarco Pradel (16) have this year been racing in karts and Formula 4 in their home country and were the two candidates that stood out at an event in Sepang organised by scouting partners, Motorsport Australia. Also coming to Maranello, chosen in conjunction with Escuderia Telmex at an event in Puebla, Mexico, are the Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi Jr., (15 years old) racing in Formula 4 in Italy and the Mexican Jess Carrasquedo (15) who made his debut this year in the Spanish Formula 4 series.
In Maranello. The youngsters will arrive at the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello on Monday 24 October, where they will be evaluated in a series of tests to evaluate their physical ability, their attitude and mental suitability to life as a professional racing driver, both on and off track. A highlight will be driving a Formula 4 car at Fiorano, running the same Pirelli tyres as used in the Italian championship. At the end of the event, Ferrari engineers will convene to decide if any candidates are suitable to join the Academy, to start out on a very demanding but also very ambitious path, with the final goal of joining Scuderia Ferrari and racing in Formula 1 for the Prancing Horse, as was the case with Charles Leclerc in 2019.
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Marco Matassa, Head of Ferrari Driver Academy, said:
“The FDA Scouting World Finals are very important for us. Along with our scouting partners – ACI Sport, Tony Kart, Escuderia Telmex and Motorsport Australia – we have chosen six youngsters from four continents and five countries, based solely on their talent, ability and potential, irrespective of their financial situation. After a three year wait caused by the pandemic, it’s been particularly pleasing to see how the method we came up with for our scouting could be put into practice, with the youngsters actually evaluated on track at the events in Sepang and Puebla, just as we have done at Maranello with the those from Europe on at least a couple of occasions during the year. I can’t wait to welcome the finalists here in Maranello and to begin working with them.” – he pointed out, as reported by Ferrari’s official website earlier today.
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