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]
 | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Base | Maranello, Province of Modena, Italy |
| Current drivers |  Robert Shwartzman Formula 1  Mick Schumacher FIA Formula 3  Arthur Leclerc  Oliver Bearman FR European Championship  Dino Beganovic ADAC/Italian F4 .svg.png.webp){kind=small} James Wharton  Rafael Câmara Italian F4  Maya Weug Karting  Laura Camps Torras |
| Website | https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/fda |
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 dying from 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, Antonio 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 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. In late 2017 Ferrari added Callum Ilott, Robert Shwartzman and Gianluca Petecof to their line-up. Mick Schumacher, the son of multiple Formula One World champion Michael Schumacher was added to the lineup in 2019.
In September 2018, it was announced Leclerc would become the first academy member to graduate to Ferrari in 2019.[5]
Mick Schumacher graduated to F1 with Haas F1 after winning the 2020 Formula 2 Championship, while Championship runner-up Callum Ilott was given a test and reserve driver role at Scuderia Ferrari. After 2020 three drivers left the academy: Giuliano Alesi, Enzo Fittipaldi and reigning Formula Regional European Champion Gianluca Petecof, meanwhile Australian karter James Wharton joined it after winning the Ferrari Scouting competition.[6]
In January 2021, Maya Weug, 16, became the first female driver to join the academy.[7] In Autumn of 2021 Ferrari added European Karting vice-champion Rafael Câmara and Italian F4 and ADAC F4 champion Ollie Bearman to their lineup, after the pair won the Ferrari's Scouting World Final.[8]
Following the second running of the Girls On Track – Rising Stars competition Laura Camps Torras was signed to the setup.[9]
Current drivers
FDA Esports Team
| Driver | Joined Since | Current Series | Titles as FDA member |
|---|---|---|---|
 David Tonizza |
2019– | F1 Esports SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe |
F1 Esports (2019) SRO GT Esports Europe Endurance Cup (2021) |
| Brendon Leigh |
2021– | none as Ferrari Driver Academy member | |
| Domenico Lovece |
2021– | F1 Esports | none as Ferrari Driver Academy member |
 Kasper Stoltze |
2021– | Le Mans Virtual Series | none as Ferrari Driver Academy member |
| Jordy Zwiers |
2021– | none as Ferrari Driver Academy member | |
| Martin Dyrlund |
2021– | none as Ferrari Driver Academy member | |
 Bence Szabó-Kónyi |
2021– | F1 Esports | none as Ferrari Driver Academy member |
 Kamil Pawłowski |
2022– | SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe | Ferrari Esports Series (2021) |
Former drivers
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
Former FDA Esports drivers
| Driver | Years | Series competed in | Titles as FDA Esports member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amos Laurito |
2019 | F1 Esports (2019) | None |
| Gianfranco Giglioli |
2019 | None | |
| Enzo Bonito |
2020 | F1 Esports (2020) | None |
 Filip Prešnajder |
2020 | None | |
| Giovanni De Salvo |
2021 | SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe | SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe Endurance Cup |
Esports
In 2019 Ferrari established the FDA Esports Team to compete in the Formula One Esports Series.[22] Their first championship victory came that same year, with Italian David Tonizza winning the drivers' championship.[23]
In 2021 two-time Esports champion Brendon Leigh joined the team from Mercedes to partner Tonizza. They finished 4th in the teams' championship on 125 points with 1 win and 2 podiums, both from Tonizza.
Complete F1 Esports Series results
| Year | Chassis | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Ferrari SF90 | BHR | CHN | AZE | CAN | RBR | GBR | GER | BEL | ITA | JPN | USA | BRA | 184 | 3rd | |
| David Tonizza |
1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||||
| Amos Laurito |
16 | 16 | 13 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 17 | |||||||
| Gianfranco Giglioli |
17 | 16 | 15 | |||||||||||||
| 2020 | Ferrari SF1000 | BHR | VIE | CHN | NED | CAN | RBR | GBR | BEL | ITA | JPN | MEX | BRA | 100 | 5th | |
| David Tonizza |
20 | 1 | 19 | 11 | Ret | 10 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 7 | Ret | 6 | ||||
| Enzo Bonito |
14 | 7 | 20 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 19 | |||||
| Filip Prešnajder |
11 | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Ferrari SF21 | BHR | CHN | RBR | GBR | ITA | BEL | POR | NED | USA | EMI | MEX | BRA | 125 | 4th | |
| David Tonizza |
9 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 9 | |||||
| Brendon Leigh |
12 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 18 | ||||
| Domenico Lovece |
11 |
Notes
- Ilott is currently on a gap year from the academy while racing in the IndyCar Series.[11]
References
- Elizalde, Pablo (18 December 2009). "Ferrari sets up young driver academy". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- Beer, Matt (6 March 2010). "Ferrari expands young driver academy". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- Noble, Jonathan (8 October 2010). "Perez joins Ferrari young driver scheme". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- "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.
- "Charles Leclerc to drive for Scuderia Ferrari in 2019". Scuderia Ferrari. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- Allen, Peter (9 December 2020). "James Wharton wins Ferrari Driver Academy scouting shootout". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- George Ramsay. "Maya Weug becomes first female driver to earn a spot in the Ferrari Driver Academy". CNN. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- Gascoigne, Roger (8 November 2021). "Bearman and Camara signed by Ferrari Driver Academy for 2022". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- "Laura Camps Torras wins Girls on Track – Rising Stars and a place in the Ferrari Driver Academy". www.ferrari.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- "Ilott is first British driver to join FDA". pitpass.com. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- "Al via il 2022 della Ferrari Driver Academy". www.ferrari.com (in Italian). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- Wood, Elliot (24 October 2017). "Robert Shwartzman added to Ferrari Driver Academy". formulascout.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- Mitchell, Scott (19 January 2019). "Ferrari adds Schumacher to F1 junior programme". motorsport.com. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- "Arthur Leclerc and Dino Beganovic for the Scuderia's young driver programme". 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Smith, Luke (8 November 2021). "British youngster Bearman joins Ferrari Driver Academy". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- "Joining the Ferrari Driver Academy and winner of #GirlsOnTrack Senior competition… Laura Camps Torras". Twitter. Ferrari Driver Academy. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- "Scuderia Ferrari: new from China". Ferrari.com. 9 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- 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.
- "Alesi's F1 dream fades over funding issues". Planet F1. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- "Giuliano Alesi leaves the Ferrari Driver Academy and F2". Formula Scout. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- "Ferrari adds Brazilian karter Gianluca Petecof to Driver Academy | Formula Scout". www.formulascout.com. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- "Ten Teams Confirmed For 2019 F1 New Balance Esports Series". 31 May 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- "Tonizza And Red Bull Crowned Champions! 2019 F1 Esports Grand Final Report". 5 December 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
