Ferrari Driver Academy

Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from the Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent within its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, while under long-term contracts. Over the years several Academy drivers have been promoted to Formula One: Charles Leclerc, Sergio Pérez, Lance Stroll, Mick Schumacher, Zhou Guanyu and Oliver Bearman.

Ferrari Driver Academy

Founded	2009 (2009)
Base	Maranello, Province of Modena, Italy
Current drivers	FIA Formula 2 Oliver Bearman FIA Formula 3 Dino Beganovic Formula Regional European Championship Rafael Câmara Tuukka Taponen F1 Academy Maya Weug Aurelia Nobels
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.^[1] 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.^[2][3] 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 also ceased being a member following his departure to Williams. Marciello, on the other hand, 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

In January 2021, Maya Weug, 16, became the first female driver to join the academy.^[6] 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.^[7]

Following the second running of the Girls On Track – Rising Stars competition Laura Camps Torras was signed to the setup.^[8]

Current drivers

Driver	Years	Current Series	Titles as FDA member
Dino Beganovic	2020–	FIA Formula 3 Championship	Formula Regional European Championship
Maya Weug	2021–	F1 Academy	none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Oliver Bearman	2022–	FIA Formula 2 Championship	none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Rafael Câmara	2022–	Formula Regional European Championship	none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Tuukka Taponen^[9]	2023–	Formula Regional European Championship	Formula Regional Middle East Championship
Aurelia Nobels^[9]	2023–	F1 Academy	none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Sources:^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

Scuderia Ferrari Esports Team

Driver	Joined Since	Current Series	Titles as FDA member
Mirko Suriano	2022–	F1 Sim Racing	PSGL S2 E-series
Bardia Broumand	2023–		PSGL F1 PC S34 Constructor's standings
Nicolas Longuet	2023–		PSGL F1 PC S34 Constructor's standings
Tomasz Poradzisz	2023–		PSGL S2 E-series
Dylan Warren	2023–		PSGL S2 E-series
István Puki	2023–		PSGL S2 E-series
Kamil Stachura	2023–		PSGL S2 E-series
Jonathan Riley	2023–	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	Ferrari Esports Series (2022)
Chris Harteveld	2023–	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports SRO Esports Sim Pro Series	SRO Esports Sim Pro Series
Dennis Jordan	2023–	rFactor 2 GT Challenge Formula SimRacing World Championship Virtual Endurance Championship	rFactor 2 GT Challenge
Alex Siebel	2023–		none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Timotej Andonovski	2023–	rFactor 2 GT Challenge Virtual Endurance Championship	none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Isaac Gillissen	2024–	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports Virtual Endurance Championship DTM Esports Pro Championship	none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Gergő Báldi	2024–	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports DTM Esports Pro Championship	none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Mikhail Statsenko	2024–	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	none as Ferrari Driver Academy member
Grantas Kareckas	2024–		none as Ferrari Driver Academy member

Former drivers

Driver	Years	Series competed as Ferrari Driver Academy member	F1 team(s)
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)
Mirko Bortolotti	2010	GP3 Series (2010)	None
Daniel Zampieri	2010	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2010)	None
Sergio Pérez	2010–2012	GP2 Series (2010) Formula One (2011–2012)	Sauber (2011–2012) McLaren (2013) Force India (2014–2018) Racing Point (2019–2020) Red Bull Racing (2021–)
Brandon Maïsano	2010–2012	Formula Abarth (2010) Italian Formula Three Championship (2011–2012)	None
Lance Stroll	2010–2015	Karting (2010–2013) Italian F4 Championship (2014) Toyota Racing Series (2015) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2015)	Williams (2017–2018) Racing Point (2019–2020) Aston Martin (2021–)
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
Antonio Fuoco	2013–2018	Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2013) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2014) GP3 Series (2015–2016) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2017–2018)	None
Zhou Guanyu^[14]	2014–2018	Italian F4 Championship (2015) ADAC Formula 4 (2015) Toyota Racing Series (2016) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2016–2018)	Alfa Romeo (2022–2023) Kick Sauber (2024)
Charles Leclerc^[15]	2016–2018	GP3 Series (2016) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2017)	Sauber (2018) Ferrari (2019–)
Giuliano Alesi^[16]^[17]	2016–2020	GP3 Series (2016–2018) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019–2020)	None
Gianluca Petecof^[18]	2017–2020	Italian F4 Championship (2018–2019) ADAC Formula 4 (2018–2019) Formula Regional European Championship (2020)	None
Enzo Fittipaldi	2017–2020	ADAC Formula 4 (2017–2018) Italian F4 Championship (2017–2018) Formula Regional European Championship (2019) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2020)	None
Marcus Armstrong	2017–2021	Toyota Racing Series (2017–2019) Italian F4 Championship (2017) ADAC Formula 4 (2017) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2018) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2020–2021)	None
Callum Ilott^[19]	2017–2021^[note 1]	GP3 Series (2018) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019–2020) GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup (2021)	None
/  Robert Shwartzman^[20]	2017–2022	Formula Renault Eurocup (2017) Toyota Racing Series (2018) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2018) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2020–2021)	None
Mick Schumacher^[21]	2019–2022	Formula 2 Championship (2019–2020)	Haas (2021–2022)
Arthur Leclerc	2020–2023	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021–2022) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2023)	None
James Wharton	2021–2023	Formula 4 UAE Championship (2022-2023) Italian F4 Championship (2022-2023) ADAC Formula 4 (2022) Euro 4 Championship (2023)	None
Laura Camps Torras^[22]	2022	Karting (2022)	None

• Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Former FDA Esports drivers

Driver	Years	Series competed in	Titles as FDA Esports member
Amos Laurito	2019	F1 Esports SRO GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	GT World Challenge Esports Europe Endurance Cup (2021)
Gianfranco Giglioli	2019	F1 Esports	None
Enzo Bonito	2020	F1 Esports SRO E-Sport GT Series Championship	None
Filip Prešnajder	2020	F1 Esports	None
Domenico Lovece	2021	F1 Esports	None
David Tonizza	2019–2022	F1 Esports SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	F1 Esports (2019) SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe Endurance Cup (2021)
Giovanni De Salvo	2021–2022	SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	Ferrari Esports Series (2020) SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe Endurance Cup (2021)
Brendon Leigh	2021–2022	F1 Esports	SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe Endurance Cup (2021)
Bence Szabó-Kónyi	2021–2022	F1 Esports	None
Kasper Stoltze	2021-2023	Le Mans Virtual Series	None
Jordy Zwiers	2021-2023	Le Mans Virtual Series	None
Martin Dyrlund	2021-2023	Le Mans Virtual Series	None
Fabrizio Donoso Delgado	2022	F1 Esports	None
Kamil Pawłowski	2022	SRO GT World Challenge Esports Europe SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	Ferrari Esports Series (2021)
Danilo Santoro	2022	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	None
Daniel Savini	2022	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	None
Christian Michel	2022-2023	Le Mans Virtual Series	None
Hugo Merlhes	2022	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	None
Sven Zurner	2022	F1 Esports	None
Chandler Seita	2022	F1 Esports	None
Andrea Capoccia	2023	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports	None
Jordan Sherratt	2023	SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports SRO Esports Sim Pro Series	None

Esports

In 2019, Ferrari established the FDA Esports Team to compete in the Formula One Esports Series.^[23] That same year, Italian David Tonizza won the drivers' championship, securing their first championship victory.^[24]

In 2020, Enzo Bonito and Filip Prešnajder joined the team. A much harder season was to come, with Ferrari only taking 2 wins in the season, both achieved by Tonizza.

For 2021, two-time Esports champion Brendon Leigh joined the team from Mercedes to partner Tonizza and newcomer Domenico Lovece. They finished 4th in the teams' championship on 125 points with 1 win and 2 podiums, both from Tonizza.

Runner-up from 2017 Fabrizio Donoso joined Leigh and Tonizza at Ferrari for 2022. They endured their worst season to date, with only one podium from Leigh and ending up 7th in the team standings.

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	2nd
		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
2022	Ferrari F1-75

See also

• Scuderia Ferrari
• Formula Abarth
• Formula Future Fiat

Notes

1. Ilott is still contracted to Ferrari, but is said to be on an extended "gap year" from the academy while racing in the IndyCar Series.^[13]

References

1. Beer, Matt (6 March 2010). "Ferrari expands young driver academy". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
2. Noble, Jonathan (8 October 2010). "Perez joins Ferrari young driver scheme". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
3. . Ferrari.com. 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
4. "Charles Leclerc to drive for Scuderia Ferrari in 2019". Scuderia Ferrari. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
5. Allen, Peter (9 December 2020). "James Wharton wins Ferrari Driver Academy scouting shootout". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
6. George Ramsay (23 January 2021). "Maya Weug becomes first female driver to earn a spot in the Ferrari Driver Academy". CNN. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
7. Gascoigne, Roger (8 November 2021). "Bearman and Camara signed by Ferrari Driver Academy for 2022". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
8. "Laura Camps Torras wins Girls on Track – Rising Stars and a place in the Ferrari Driver Academy". www.ferrari.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
9. "The Ferrari Driver Academy year gets underway". www.ferrari.com. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
10. Mitchell, Scott (19 January 2019). "Ferrari adds Schumacher to F1 junior programme". motorsport.com. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
11. "Arthur Leclerc and Dino Beganovic for the Scuderia's young driver programme". 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
12. Smith, Luke (8 November 2021). "British youngster Bearman joins Ferrari Driver Academy". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
13. "Al via il 2022 della Ferrari Driver Academy". www.ferrari.com (in Italian). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
14. . Ferrari.com. 9 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
15. 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.
16. "Alesi's F1 dream fades over funding issues". Planet F1. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
17. "Giuliano Alesi leaves the Ferrari Driver Academy and F2". Formula Scout. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
18. "Ferrari adds Brazilian karter Gianluca Petecof to Driver Academy | Formula Scout". www.formulascout.com. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
19. "Ilott is first British driver to join FDA". pitpass.com. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
20. Wood, Elliot (24 October 2017). "Robert Shwartzman added to Ferrari Driver Academy". Formula Scout. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
21. Ferrari confirms Schumacher's exit from F1 young driver academy Autosport 15 December 2022
22. "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.
23. . 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
24. . 5 December 2019. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.

External links

• Official website