A teenage racing driver from Northern Ireland has been offered a dream opportunity to be part of Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing’s academy.
Magherafelt’s Fionn McLaughlin, 16, recently came through a hugely competitive evaluation week as one one of 11 invited candidates from the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Lebanon and Mexico.
From this aspiring group, the first drivers selected to join the programme were McLaughlin and Sweden’s Scott Lindblom.
The three-day event consisted of prospective young drivers trying and testing open-wheel F4 and GP3 racing cars in a shootout format at the Jerez circuit in Spain.
New talents join the same path as current F1 drivers Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo in taking part in the Red Bull junior driver development programme.
McLaughlin began karting at the age of five, and by the time he was seven was competing in and winning in various championships around Ireland.
He has gone on to compete successfully at British, European and world level and is currently in the OK class, representing Kart Republic as part of the VDK racing team.
He has won both of the past two events he has competed in – the German round of the IAME Euro Series in Wackersdorf and the Champions of the Future event at Kristianstad in Sweden.
Despite his tender years, notable career achievements to date include being vice-champion of the 2022 British Karting Championships and vice-champion of the 2022 Iame World Games.
In 2023, McLaughlin competed in the CIK-FIA European Championships finishing seventh overall in his first year in the category. He also competed in the 2023 FIA Karting World Championship.
“My goal in racing is to be a world champion,” said the teenager.
“I never give up and I work hard until I’m at the top. I will keep working until I’m there.”
McLaughlin’s racing role model – former F1 champion Sebastian Vettel – was a Red Bull junior driver graduate himself.
“The driver that got me into racing was Sebastian Vettel,” he added. “He has always been an inspiration to me.”
