Driver Development Programme
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Driver Development Programme
A driver development program, also known as a driver development team or driver academy, is a system or structure designed to identify and develop talent in auto racing. Programs are typically offered to drivers aged 12 to 25 in junior racing categories—such as kart racing and lower formulae—with the aim of progressing to top-level motorsport series, often devised by racing teams, external companies and sponsors. Driver development programs involve the scouting, signing and training of driver talent around the world. Racing teams will typically sign young drivers with the intention of eventually graduating them to a senior category with the organisation, such as Formula One, IndyCar or NASCAR. Many teams sign drivers to multi-year contracts, in which they assist in funding their careers in junior formulae—such as kart racing, Formula Three and Formula Two in open-wheel racing, as well as late models and ARCA in stock car racing—to develop their talent and experience. Suc ...
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Auto Racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various types were organized, with the first recorded as early as 1867. Many of the earliest events were effectively Classic trials, reliability trials, aimed at proving these new machines were a practical mode of transport, but soon became an important way for automobile makers to demonstrate their machines. By the 1930s, specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and regulations. History The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred at 4:30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford, England, a di ...
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McLaren Driver Development Programme
The McLaren Driver Development Programme, formerly known as the McLaren Young Driver Programme, is a driver development programme operated by McLaren. It is intended to offer year-by-year guidance, assistance and endorsement to help promising young racers climb the motorsport ladder. The programme was also formerly known as the McLaren-Honda Young Driver Programme and the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme, reflecting engine deals with Honda and Mercedes, respectively. The most notable participant in the programme is Lewis Hamilton, who joined the programme while karting and eventually graduated to the McLaren F1 Team. He has won the Formula One Drivers' Championship seven times between 2008 and 2020, where the championship was won with McLaren. Hamilton is currently the only graduate from the programme who has won a World Drivers' Championship. As of 2025, nine programme drivers have graduated to Formula One, with four of those debuting directly with the McLaren ...
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Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish auto racing, racing and rally driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Kovalainen won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren. In sportscar racing, Kovalainen won Super GT in 2016 Super GT Series, 2016 with SARD. Kovalainen was supported by the Renault in Formula One, Renault Driver Development programme early in his racing career, during which he won the World Series by Nissan championship and finished runner-up in the GP2 series. Renault in Formula One, Renault signed him on as a full-time Formula One test driver for , and then promoted him to a race seat for . He gained his first podium by finishing second in the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, Japanese Grand Prix that year. He moved to McLaren for the season, where he partnered Lewis Hamilton. His second season in Formula One saw him achieve his first pole position at 2008 British Grand Prix, Silverstone and his first victory at the 2008 Hungarian Grand Pri ...
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Alpine F1 Team
Alpine F1 Team, currently racing as BWT Alpine F1 Team for sponsorship reasons, is the name under which the Enstone-based Formula One team has been competing since the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault as well as Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, the team was rebranded for 2021 to promote Renault's sports car brand, Alpine, and continues to serve as Renault's works team, a position the team will keep until Renault pulls out of Formula One (as an engine manufacturer) after 2025. The chassis and managerial side of the team is based in Enstone, Oxfordshire, England, and the Renault-branded engine side of the team is based in Viry-Châtillon, a suburb of Paris, France. The team competes with a French licence. Background Origins of the team The team has a long history, first competing in Formula One in as Toleman, when the team was based in Witney, England. In , fol ...
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Alpine Academy
The Alpine Academy, formerly known as the RF1 Driver Programme, Renault Driver Development and Renault Sport Academy, is a driver development programme to support young racing drivers through their careers. The programme was created by Renault F1 in 2002. In 2011, the programme was renamed LRGP Academy, following the rebranding of the team to " Lotus Renault GP". In 2012, the programme was renamed Lotus F1 Team iRace Professional Programme and 2013–2015, the programme was renamed Lotus F1 Junior Team. In 2021, the programme was renamed Alpine Academy after the rebranding of the Renault F1 team into Alpine F1 Team. In March 2022, the Alpine Affiliates programme was launched as a support to drivers starting their motorsport careers, and is intended to be a feeder for the Alpine Academy. However, it was merged into Alpine Academy at the start of 2023. Current drivers Rac(H)er Karting Programme Graduates to Formula 1 This list contains the drivers that have graduated to Form ...
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Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned by conglomerate Red Bull GmbH, the other being Racing Bulls. The Red Bull Racing team has been managed by Christian Horner since its formation in 2005. Red Bull had Cosworth engines in and Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari engines in . The team used engines supplied by Renault in Formula One, Renault between and (from to 2018, the Renault engine was re-badged TAG Heuer following the breakdown in the relationship between Red Bull and Renault in ). During this partnership, they won four successive Drivers' and Constructors' Championship titles in , 2011 Formula One World Championship, 2011, 2012 Formula One World Championship, 2012, and , becoming the first Austrian team to win the t ...
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Autosport
''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London, England. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One, Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 and expanded into digital publishing with the creation of Autosport.com in 1997. In 2016, Haymarket Media Group sold Autosport and the rest of its motorsport portfolio to Motorsport Network. Autosport.com Autosport launched its website – Autosport.com – in 1997. As distinct from the magazine, the online content is more internationally focussed and as well as covering sports news and reporting on races, Autosport.com also produces video and galleries taken from the Motorsport Images archive and in-depth long-form content in the website's subscriber-only sections. Autosport Plus Autosport Plus is a paywalled part of the autosport.com website with additional content. Current editorial team *Editor - Haydn Cobb *Pl ...
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Helmut Marko
Helmut Marko (born 27 April 1943) is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing, Marko won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with Martini. He founded RSM Marko in 1989, and has been an advisor to Red Bull Racing and its related teams since 2005, winning six World Constructors' Championship titles between and . Born and raised in Austria, Marko progressed to sportscar racing by the late-1960s after completing his doctorate in law at the University of Graz. Finding success in the European Touring Car Championship and becoming a class winner at the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans with Martini, Marko progressed to the premier class the following year and won the race in then-record distance alongside Gijs van Lennep. Less than two months later, Marko debuted in Formula One with Bonnier at the , driving a privateer McLaren M7C. He joined BRM for the remainder of the season, and retained his seat in . Marko wa ...
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RB Formula One Team
Racing Bulls S.p.A., competing as Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team (shortened to Racing Bulls or VCARB), is an Italian Formula One racing team and constructor that has been competing since the season. It is one of two Formula One constructors owned by Austrian conglomerate Red Bull GmbH, the other being Red Bull Racing. Known as Scuderia Toro Rosso from 2006 to 2019 and Scuderia AlphaTauri from 2020 to 2023, the team was rebranded to RB for the 2024 season, and then switched to Racing Bulls in 2025. The current CEO is Peter Bayer, and the team principal is Laurent Mekies. At the start of the 2024 season, the team retained incumbent drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda from when it was known as AlphaTauri; Ricciardo was dropped after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix and was replaced with Red Bull junior and reserve driver Liam Lawson. Lawson was promoted to the main Red Bull team for 2025, with Formula 2 graduate Isack Hadjar taking his place at Racing Bulls. Lawson wa ...
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Motor Sport (magazine)
''Motor Sport'' is a monthly motor racing magazine, founded in the United Kingdom in 1924 as the ''Brooklands Gazette''. The name was changed to ''Motor Sport'' for the August 1925 issue. The magazine covers motor sport in general, although from 1997 to 2006 its emphasis was historic motorsport. It remains one of the leading titles on both modern and historic racing. The magazine's photo library is currently managed by LAT Images, which founded as Motor Sport photographic division by Wesley J. Tee in the 1960s and later spun-off as a stand-alone affiliated company. The magazine's monthly podcasts have featured Christian Horner, Mario Andretti, Patrick Head, Frank Williams (Formula One), Sir Frank Williams, John McGuinness (motorcycle racer), John McGuinness and Gordon Murray. In 1939, the magazine incorporated its rival ''Speed'' (the organ of the British Racing Drivers' Club). Editors * 1936–1991: Bill Boddy * ? – December 1996: Simon Arron * April 1997 – ?: Andrew Franke ...
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Kart Racer
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports. Most modern Formula One drivers, including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, and Max Verstappen, have begun their racing careers in karting. Karts vary widely in speed, and some (known as superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding , while recreational go-karts intended for the general public may be limited to lower speeds. History American Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in Southern California in 1956. Early karting events were held in the ...
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McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known as a Formula One chassis List of Formula One constructors, constructor, the second-oldest active team and the second-most successful Formula One team after Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, having won races, 12 Formula One Drivers' Championship, Drivers' Championships, and nine Formula One constructors' championship, Constructors' Championships. McLaren also has a history in American open wheel racing as both an entrant and a chassis constructor, and has won the Can-Am, Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) sports car racing championship. McLaren is one of only three constructors, and the only team, to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport#Teams and manufacturers, Triple Crown of Motorsport (wins at the Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, ...
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