Ferrari Driver Academy

Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent inside its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, being under long-term contracts.[1]

History

The idea of the concept came from Felipe Massa's grooming within the Ferrari organisation, with the Brazilian being loaned out to Sauber for three seasons whilst being under contract with Ferrari. Jules Bianchi became the first recruit to the scheme in December 2009, being followed by Mirko Bortolotti, Daniel Zampieri and Raffaele Marciello in March 2010.[2] In late 2010, Ferrari confirmed Sergio Pérez had been signed up to the scheme, the Mexican being set to be its first graduate to Formula One competition, having already signed for Ferrari-powered, Sauber, days before the announcement.[3][4] Pérez ceased being a member of the Academy after signing to McLaren in 2013. Bianchi also ceased being a member in July 2015 after succumbing to injuries he sustained at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix while racing for the Ferrari-powered Marussia team. Lance Stroll ceased being a member following his departure to Williams. Marciello ceased to be a member for personal reasons.

After rumours of the academy being disbanded, it was announced that the programme would be expanded with Massimo Rivola as its new head. On 23 June 2015, Fuoco had his first Formula One test with Ferrari during the 2-day post-Austrian Grand Prix test in Spielberg at the Red Bull Ring. In March 2016, it was announced that Charles Leclerc would be inducted into the Ferrari Driver Academy. In September 2016, it was announced that Giovinazzi would perform simulator work for Scuderia Ferrari. In November of that year, Enzo Fittipaldi was among five drivers invited to join the Ferrari Driver Academy and was confirmed as a Ferrari Driver Academy member alongside Marcus Armstrong the following month. Later in December 2016 it was announced that Antonio Giovinazzi would become the third driver for Scuderia Ferrari in 2017. In late 2017 Ferrari added Callum Ilott, Robert Shwartzman and Gianluca Petecof to their line-up.

Driver Years Current Series Titles
Italy Antonio Fuoco 2013– FIA Formula 2 Championship Formula Renault 2.0 Alps
China Guanyu Zhou[5] 2014– European Formula 3 none
Monaco Charles Leclerc[6] 2016– Formula One FIA Formula 2 Championship
GP3 Series
France Giuliano Alesi 2016– GP3 Series none
New Zealand Marcus Armstrong 2017– European Formula 3 Italian F4 Championship
Brazil Enzo Fittipaldi 2017– Italian F4 Championship none
United Kingdom Callum Ilott[7] 2017– GP3 Series none
Russia Robert Shwartzman[8] 2017– European Formula 3 Toyota Racing Series
Brazil Gianluca Petecof[9] 2017– ADAC / Italian F4[10] none

Former drivers

Driver Years Series competed F1 team(s)
France Jules Bianchi 2009–2014 Formula 3 Euro Series (2009)
GP2 Series (2010–2011)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012)
Formula One (2013–2014)		 Marussia (2013-2014)
Italy Mirko Bortolotti 2010 GP3 Series (2010) None
Italy Daniel Zampieri 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2010) None
Mexico Sergio Pérez 2010–2012 GP2 Series (2010)
Formula One (2011–present)		 Sauber (2011-2012)
Mclaren (2013)
Force India (2014-2018)
France Brandon Maïsano 2010–2012 Formula Abarth (2010)
Italian Formula Three Championship (2011–2012)		 None
Canada Lance Stroll 2010–2015 Kart (2010–2013)
Italian F4 Championship (2014)
Toyota Racing Series (2015)
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2015-2016)
Formula One (2017–present)		 Williams (2017-2018)
Italy Raffaele Marciello 2010–2015 Formula Abarth (2010)
Italian Formula Three Championship (2011)
Toyota Racing Series (2012)
Formula 3 Euro Series (2012)
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2012–2013)
GP2 Series (2014–2015)		 None
  • Championship titles highlighted in bold.

See also

Footnotes

    References

    1. ↑ Elizalde, Pablo (18 December 2009). "Ferrari sets up young driver academy". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
    2. ↑ Beer, Matt (6 March 2010). "Ferrari expands young driver academy". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
    3. ↑ Noble, Jonathan (8 October 2010). "Perez joins Ferrari young driver scheme". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
    4. ↑ "FDA testing at Fiorano: on track with Formula 3 today and F1 Thursday". Ferrari.com. 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
    5. ↑ "Scuderia Ferrari: new from China". Ferrari.com. 9 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
    6. ↑ Costa, Massimo (25 November 2015). "ESCLUSIVO Leclerc nuovo pilota del Ferrari Driver Academy (EXCLUSIVE Leclerc new pilot of the Ferrari Driver Academy)". Italiaracing. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
    7. ↑ "Ilott is first British driver to join FDA". pitpass.com. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    8. ↑ Wood, Elliot (24 October 2017). "Robert Shwartzman added to Ferrari Driver Academy". formulascout.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
    9. ↑ "Ferrari adds Brazilian karter Gianluca Petecof to Driver Academy | Formula Scout". www.formulascout.com. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
    10. ↑ Allen, Peter (5 February 2018). "New Ferrari recruit Petecof to race in both Italian and German F4 for Prema". formulascout.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
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