“Karting is where it all started for me, and it taught me everything I’ve relied on throughout my career,” says George Russell. “I know how hard it is for talented young drivers to get that first opportunity, especially when budgets are tight.”
With that last bit in mind, the British Formula 1 star is putting his money where his mouth is and launching the GR63 Karting Academy to help find the next, well, him.
Based at Silverstone’s state-of-the-art go-kart track, there’ll be arrive-and-drive sessions running throughout December for eight- and nine-year-olds. Costs have been capped at £25 (around P2,100) a session to encourage as many boys and girls as possible to come along and do their best, um, Kimi Antonelli impression. Moving swiftly on...
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The best 80 drivers will qualify for the GR63 Shootout at the end of January (£75 or around P6,300), which will whittle the field down to the 25 hotshots who’ll make up the grid for the eight-round GR63 Championship in 2027.
So far £100 (around P8,400) spent, but get this far and everything after is fully funded: The top five drivers from the championship will then enter into a final assessment in December next year—measuring ‘talent, lap times, fitness, race craft, and media skills’—with the prize of a fully paid karting season in 2028 up for grabs.
Oh, and Russell himself will ‘help mentor and guide young drivers at one of the most important stages of their development.’ Not a bad teacher to have on the sidelines, eh?
So win that, hop over to Lando Norris’s junior single-seater team, climb the ranks and boom: You’re an F1 driver for not much more than an Ultimate Edition copy of GTA 6.
“With the GR63 Karting Academy, I want to give something back by finding those hidden talents and giving them the support and platform they need to reach their potential,” Russell adds. “I’m really grateful to Silverstone and the British Racing Drivers’ Club for helping make this happen.”
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
