Ferrari F1 news: Six drivers are being assessed at Maranello for world-acclaimed Ferrari Driver Academy as part of first scouting world final.
The Ferrari testing program has in the past recruited the likes of Marcus Armstrong, Enzo Fittipaldi and Gianluca Petecof. This year, a partnership was cracked to discover talent in the Latin American and Asian-Pacific regions.
NEWS | 🇮🇹 These are the drivers that start battling for a spot in the Ferrari Driver Academy today at Maranello. The ‘Scouting World Finals’ lasts five days.
🇲🇨 Charlie Wurz
🇷🇺 Nikita Bedrin
🇸🇪 Viktor Gustavsson
🇲🇽 Santiago Ramos Reynoso
🇦🇺 Marcos Flack
🇦🇺 James Wharton pic.twitter.com/cdSRzvb5vC— F1 Feeder Series (@F1FeederSeries1) October 21, 2020
Out of the six, Nikita Bedrin, Charlie Wurz and Viktor Gustavsson have been chosen from the world of European karting. From Latin America, Santiago Ramos has been selected via a partnership with Escuderia Telmex. Ramos is already a part of this program backed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. From the Asian-Pacific region, Australian karters James Wharton and Marcos Flack have been chosen to be assessed at Maranello.
A dream opportunity to get into Ferrari Driver Academy
The best performer(s) have a shot to make the dream move to the Ferrari Driver Academy. The assessments have begun at Maranello, which includes physical and mental evaluations to start with. Post this, the simulator sessions will begin with the opportunity to drive a F4 car over the next five days. Ferrari’s sporting director and academy head Laurent Mekies had this to say on the FDA scouting world final:
“It’s great to be able to host our first FDA scouting world final at the end of a year rendered so complicated by the current pandemic. We would like to thank our scouting partners worldwide who made it happen and we are sure that this season marks the start of what will become a key event in the FDA scouting strategy.”
“Now it’s time to turn our attention towards the group of youngsters that came here for this week of evaluation and we are all looking forward to seeing how they perform during our final.”
Before you go: “There is friction between Binotto and Resta at Ferrari” – Italian journo reveals all is not well with the Ferrari F1 leadership
