A teenage racing driver from Magherafelt in Northern Ireland has been offered a dream opportunity to be part of Formula One team Red Bull Racing’s academy.
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 Fionn 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 Formula 1 drivers and champions Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Daniel Ricciardo in taking part in the Red Bull Junior Driver development programme.
The teenager began karting at the age of five and by the time he was seven was competing in and winning in various championships throughout Ireland.
Fionn has gone on to compete successfully at British, European and world level and is currently competing in the OK class, representing Kart Republic as part of the VDK racing team.
