McLaren signs 14 year old Protege!
01-21-2010 | 01:41 PM
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McLaren signs 14 year old Protege!
Trying to duplicate the Lewis Hamilton experiment and have a driver ready to go in 5-7 years time I presume. It worked with Hamilton... Could this be the future of F1 drivers?
McLaren signs 14-year-old Dutch talent
21 January 2010
McLaren has begun a contract with its next racing protégé, 14-year-old Dutchman Nyck de Vries, who joins the company's young driver development programme and is managed by Anthony Hamilton, father and Manager of 2008 World Champion Lewis.
With McLaren's young driver scheme having proven immensely successful when Lewis Hamilton, who joined in 1997, became F1 Champion two years ago, the progress of de Vries - who hails from the city of Sneek in the Netherlands' Friesland province - has been monitored closely by the Woking team.
"My visit to the McLaren Technology Centre has been a fantastic experience and I am very honoured and grateful for the support of McLaren in helping to develop my career," commented di Vries, who triumphed in both the WSK KF3 International and German Junior karting championships in 2008.
"The resources they have are incredible and I believe they'll be able to provide me with the perfect framework for improving my skills, my fitness and my motorsport experience."
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
"McLaren has a long-held commitment to assisting young talent," continued Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh. "We believe it's part of the responsibility of the motor racing community to encourage and nurture junior racers and we are committed to doing just that. Nyck appears to be a very exciting prospect and we are looking forward to assisting his junior career, providing him with the support and training he requires to succeed."
"Nyck is an extremely promising youngster," Anthony Hamilton added. "His father Hendrik has been fantastically supportive of Nyck's career and has been instrumental in raising him up to, not just be a great young racing driver, but also a fine young man."
McLaren signs 14-year-old Dutch talent
21 January 2010
McLaren has begun a contract with its next racing protégé, 14-year-old Dutchman Nyck de Vries, who joins the company's young driver development programme and is managed by Anthony Hamilton, father and Manager of 2008 World Champion Lewis.
With McLaren's young driver scheme having proven immensely successful when Lewis Hamilton, who joined in 1997, became F1 Champion two years ago, the progress of de Vries - who hails from the city of Sneek in the Netherlands' Friesland province - has been monitored closely by the Woking team.
"My visit to the McLaren Technology Centre has been a fantastic experience and I am very honoured and grateful for the support of McLaren in helping to develop my career," commented di Vries, who triumphed in both the WSK KF3 International and German Junior karting championships in 2008.
"The resources they have are incredible and I believe they'll be able to provide me with the perfect framework for improving my skills, my fitness and my motorsport experience."
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
"McLaren has a long-held commitment to assisting young talent," continued Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh. "We believe it's part of the responsibility of the motor racing community to encourage and nurture junior racers and we are committed to doing just that. Nyck appears to be a very exciting prospect and we are looking forward to assisting his junior career, providing him with the support and training he requires to succeed."
"Nyck is an extremely promising youngster," Anthony Hamilton added. "His father Hendrik has been fantastically supportive of Nyck's career and has been instrumental in raising him up to, not just be a great young racing driver, but also a fine young man."
