The prestigious Ferrari Driver Academy will run drivers at all levels of the FIA career ladder in 2020, expanding its stable to nine young star racers.
In addition to New Zealand’s own Marcus Armstrong, the academy announced this week the full squad will include Arthur Leclerc (pictured on left), younger brother of Ferrari F1 sensation (and FDA graduate) Charles.
The Scuderia’s race driver training and development programme, which has so far brought Jules Bianchi, Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi into Formula 1. The Academy brought Giovanni ‘Lello’ Marciello to New Zealand to contest the Toyota Racing Series in 2012; the Italian finished ninth overall and won at Hampton Downs and went on to win the European Formula 3 Championship the following year.
Arthur Leclerc will join the Formula Regional series in 2020, having participated in a Ferrari evaluation camp towards the end of last year. He will race for Prema Powerteam, alongside another FDA member Gianluca Petecof.
The other signing is Swedish driver Dino Beganovic. He has been recommended to the FDA by Tony Kart after winning two Swedish titles and a P2 in the WEK Euro Series in 2019. He will contest Formula 4 with Prema.
The signing of Leclerc and Beganovic takes Ferrari’s Driver Academy to nine drivers for 2020. Five of these are racing in Formula 2 this year, with Giuliano Alesi, Callum Ilott and Mick Schumacher all staying on from 2019. F3 Champion Robert Schwartzman and Marcus Armstrong both move up to F2 this year.
Behind the F2 drivers Enzo Fittipaldi will race in Formula 3 with HWA Racelab while Ferrari’s latest recruits slot in behind him on the ladder.
Comments