What is the Racing Steps Foundation?

The Racing Steps Foundation is  a motor sport initiative, founded by successful business man Graham Sharp, to “help talented young British racing drivers realise their dreams…it is for young hopefuls with the ambition, skills and determination to succeed but without the funds to make their way up the ladder”. In practice, the Racing Steps Foundation, under the patronage of Graham Sharp, provides the necessary funding to any driver involved in the programme.

When it launched, the programme initially funded four drivers: karters Jacob Stilp (12) and Jake Dennis (13), karting graduate James Calado (19) and former McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner, Oliver Turvey.

Oliver Turvey

Oliver Turvey is the most high profile driver currently involved with the programme and has been involved since its inception.

Turvey began his car racing career in 2003 when he contested the Formula Renault UK Winter Series with Mark Burdett Motorsport, finishing 18th.  Following this, he spent three years racing in Formula BMW UK and this saw him finish 7th in 2004, 8th in 2005 and 2nd in 2006. During 2006, he finished 6th in the Formula BMW World Final and also contested two races in the British Formula Three National Class.

After receiving the 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, Turvey dovetailed a season in Italian Formula Renault and Formula Renault Eurocup during 2007, finishing 9th and 8th respectively.

The Racing Steps Foundation immediately placed Turvey in British Formula Three with Carlin Motorsport. After leading the championship going into the last round, Turvey was to finish 2nd overall following a disappointing weekend at Donington Park and lost the championship to Carlin team mate Jamie Alguersuari. In November 2008, he also finished 8th in the Formula Three Macau Grand Prix.

James Calado

Also involved with the programme since its inception, James Calado made his car racing debut with the Racing Steps Foundation in 2007 after an extensive European karting career.

The Racing Steps Foundation placed Calado immediately in Formula Renault UK with championship winning team Fortec Motorsport. He finished 7th overall in the championship, having taken one win (Snetterton). During the season, he also contested three races in the Formula Renault NEC championship.

Towards the end of 2008, Calado also contested both the Formula Renault UK Winter Series and Formula Renault Portugal Winter Series, winning both.

For 2009, he will continue in the Formula Renault UK championship with Fortec Motorsport.

Jacob Stilp

The first of the two Racing Steps Foundation karters is Jacob Stilp. Despite being just 13 years of age, Stilp has already enjoyed four years of karting, the highlights of which are 3rd place in the 2007 Super 1 Cadet Championship and 3rd in the 2006 British Open Cadet Championship. As well as receiving Race Steps Foundation support, he is also the benefactor of the James Hunter Memorial Fund.

In 2008, the Racing Steps Foundation placed him in the Rotax MiniMax Super 1 National and BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Championships in which he finished 7th.

His 2009 destination is currently unannounced.

Jake Dennis

Jake Dennis (14) is the second Racing Steps Foundation karter and the final member of the 2007-2008 line up. Dennis had completed two notable years of karting prior to his involvement in the programme, which culminated in 5th position in the 2006 Super 1 Cadet championship, 4th position in 2007 whilst in the same year finishing 9th in MSA British Cadet championship.

The Racing Steps Foundation placed Dennis in the Super 1 National KF3 Championship (finishing 5th), BRDC Stars of Tomorrow KF3 championship, which he won.

In 2009, he is to continue racing in UK and European KF3 with Martin Hines’ Zip Young Guns Team.

Wayne Boyd: The one that got away

In October 2008, the Racing Steps Foundation announced that British Formula Ford champion, Wayne Boyd, was to receive a fully funded drive in the 2009 Formula Renault UK championship. However, after competing in the opening two rounds of the Formula Renault UK Winter Series in a Racing Steps Foundation car, it was announced that Boyd and the foundation were to part company.

Boyds management (headed by music impresario Chas Cole, father of British Formula Ford competitor James Cole) decided that they were not yet ready to commit to a season in Formula Renault UK, having received interest from British Formula Three teams. The Racing Steps Foundation would not negotiate on their offer and consequently the two split. Wayne Boyd is still expected to the compete in British Formula Three.

New Racing Steps Foundation addition for 2009: Jack Harvey

Filling the vacancy left by Wayne Boyd, kart racer Jack Harvey is to receive funding during 2009 in the Formula BMW Europe championship with former Formula BMW UK champions Fortec Motorsport. Harvey (15) has enjoyed an elaborate karting career, with highlights including 2008 CIK FIA Asia Pacific KF2 Champion, 2007 CIK FIA European KF3 Champion, 2007 Italian Open Masters Champion (KF3), 2007 Margutti Cup KF3 Champion.

Summary

And so, after its first full year of competition, the Racing Steps Foundation now funds five drivers, three racing cars and two who remain in karts. To this point, I’d estimate that the Racing Steps Foundation has invested somewhere in the region of £1 million during 2008, with what appears to be more than a  further £1 million pledged for 2009.

As you can read above, former McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Oliver Turvey has already been selected for the F3 drive. Six candidates for the Formula Renault were shortlisted from drivers in Formula BMW, Formula Ford and karting and each driver interviewed and evaluated in a simulator. The three remaining candidates will take part in a “shoot-out” for the seat later this month.

An initiative such as this is a step in the right direction (and is aptly named so). However, it is still a little wide of the mark.

To begin with, candidates were selected in private and without any process of nomination, application or public consultation. What’s more, the very existence of the initiative was not made public until the final stages of the selection process.

In addition, the selection criteria itself was unimaginative. What is known is that the shortlist of candidates was based on drivers with experience of British Formula Ford, Formula BMW and karting. With a front-running British Formula Ford budget in excess of £120,000 and the Formula BMW UK equivalent potentially double that, the RSF has from the outset pledged its support to drivers who have already enjoyed access to substantial funding.

What the RSF represents is progression up the professional junior ladder and founder Graham Sharp should be applauded. Whilst we know nothing about the economics behind the initiative, it is entirely plausible to assume that he has himself pledged a large amount of money upfront. (Possibly around £1,000,000 if you assume Formula Renault UK is £300,000 and British Formula Three is £600,000).

But what bothers me more is that the overwhelming majority of youngsters who get involved in British motorsport and achieve crucial success are still no less constrained. It is the financial bridge between club and national motorsport which needs an RSF. For the plethora of talent in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Vee or SaxMax (to name but a few) a couple of £80,000 (or Formula Palmer Audi drive) scholarships would be of much greater impact and for what is potentially less than 10% of the current initiatives value, possibly more cost effective too.

It is the under-funded club racing Champions in this country who need a Racing Steps Foundation more than anybody else.

Lewis first made Grand Prix history in 1998, when at just 13 years old, he became the youngest driver ever to be contracted to a Formula One team [McLaren]. This began his journey; from karting to Formula One not once did he need to consider the financial requirements of his chosen sport. My question is, in an alternate reality, without the patronage of McLaren‘s Ron Dennis, would he still be in with a chance of becoming a Formula One World Champion at his first attempt?

Lewis’ rise to stardom is good for all involved in UK motor sport. It has raised its profile in the National Media and that will have a knock on effect on competitor numbers. It may even be the saviour of the struggling national kart scene as journalists inevitably ask just where the next Lewis Hamilton will come from.

Legend has it that in 1996, aged 11, a young Lewis Hamilton approached McLaren CEO Ron Dennis during the Autosport International Awards. He spoke, “I’m going to race for you one day…I’m going to race for McLaren.”. Two years later and it was official. By means of an unsolicited phone call, Dennis asked “How would like to drive for me?”. Lewis was still just 13 but suddenly his career was set.

In 2001 he took a familiar first route into single-seaters with the Formula Renault UK winter series. After finishing 5th overall, he stayed for the main championship in 2002, finishing 3rd and again in 2003 to become the convincing champion and take his first single-seater title.

In 2003 he left Britain for a place in Euroseries Formula Three, staying with Manor Motorsport, the team whom he was triumphant with in Formula Renault. He finished 5th overall, taking just one win. For 2004 he switched to crack Formula Three outfit ASM, with whom Jamie Green won in 2003. With another convincing campaign, Hamilton took the title after 15 victories and 10 pole positions.

Following such dominant success with ASM in Formula Three, it only made sense to enter GP2 with championship winning outfit ART Grand Prix. The team, formed especially for the maiden GP2 season in 2005, is a collaboration between Frederic Vasseur (principal of ASM Formule 3) and Nicolas Todt.

What happened next needs little explanation. His performance in GP2 was exceptional and with 5 wins, he won the most prestigious feeder series into Formula One at his first attempt. This was enough to bring him firmly to the attention of the big Formula One teams and indeed the international media.

And whilst everyone concentrates on his performance, what is often over looked is the significant investment made by Ron Dennis and McLaren. If this is calculated conservatively, as below, excluding domestic costs (salary, travel, transport) it would be close to the following.

A rough timeline of the costs involved in getting Lewis into Formula One.

So if the true figure is closer to £3.5 million, over a nine year period it took a continual investment of just under £400,000 annually to create the sports next superstar. Whether he could have raised this on his own is doubtful. The modest wealth of his father Anthony would surely have become restrictive and his career path distinctly different. Without the support of a Formula One team, how would this British talent ever have reached Formula One?

The same can be said about Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Heikki Kovalainen, all of whom benefited from the support of a Formula One team’s driver development programme.

Yet, isn’t this the scope that the MSA British Race Elite scheme should really be addressing? Doesn’t the MSA hold any responsibility for the future development of all British talent?

The UK motor sport industry is worth in the region of £4.6 billion per annum. With the appropriate motivation is it beyond the realms of possibility for the MSA to involve industry partners to secure funding for a scholarship scheme? Other “expensive” sports such as Sailing, Tennis and Golf all have schemes and scholarships to encourage grass roots participation.

In theory, competition is meritocratic – success is achieved through the demonstration of ability. Perhaps throughout history, motor sport has failed in this respect.

Perhaps ultimately, it is without the necessary motivation. Lewis Hamiliton will become the face of British motor sport for the coming decade and after that a successor will emerge. There is no crisis amongst British racing drivers, no shortage of candidates to Formula One and because of that the industry, along with the MSA, feel no need to take on any responsibility for driver funding.

Lewis has always had a special talent, of that there is no doubt. But how far would he have got without a fully funded McLaren development programme? In the end, the overwhelming truth is that whatever support Lewis has enjoyed throughout his career, he has always made the absolute most of it.

And for that opportunity, we should all be greatful to Ron Dennis.

His comments are a question of interpretation. If by young drivers he actually means new drivers, then I agree, that is exactly what the sport needs.

When you think about it, Surtees has actually highlighted two separate problems. First, how does a young driver get to Formula One in the first place? I applaud him for raising the question and to an extent, his contribution is keeping Robbie Kerr in A1 Team Great Britain. I think that I covered the problems associated with this reasonably well previously (Where does all the money go?) and so I wont do so again. However, the second question Surtees has unknowingly raised, and the topic of this article is: how can we make progression to Formula One sustainable for the future? To answer that, let us look at what exactly is the problem.

F1 drivers are around for too long. When the 2007 World Championship begins in Melbourne next month, six drivers will continue long past their 10th season in Formula One. At the same time, the youngest World Champion in history, Fernando Alonso, enters his sixth season and both Jenson Button and Nick Heidfeld are to begin their seventh. What will surely please Surtees is the sight of four debutees: Lewis Hamilton (22), Heikki Kovalinen (26), Robert Kubica (22) and Adrian Sutil (24).

When Fernando Alonso made his F1 debut, he was 20 years old. Jenson Button and Kimi Rƒ¤ikkƒ¶nen were both 21. Sebastian Vettel, who is yet to make his race debut has already become the youngest driver ever to take part in a Grand Prix meeting aged just 19 years and 53 days. When you consider that, it’s hard to conclude that we need more young drivers in Formula One.

The last time Formula One suffered a fatality was the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. During that weekend, Austrian Roland Ratzenberger and three-times World Champion Aryton Senna were both killed in separate accidents. Since then, almost 13 years have passed and an increased emphasis on driver safety has seen significantly fewer injuries than ever before.

Yet for all its merits, the inadvertent consequence is that Formula One has lost an unpleasant contributor to its driver turnover.

When Michael Schumacher retired he was 38 years old. Mika Hƒ¤kkinen retired when he was 33. Great Britain’s last World Champion, Damon Hill, hung up his overalls at 39. Should David Coulthard retire at the end of 2007, he will have spent 13 of his 37 years racing in Formula One. The point here is: without reason, drivers don’t necessarily need to retire until well into their 30s.

In 2006, Formula One had 11 teams each providing two cars. 12 of the 22 seats were occupied by career drivers, that is, drivers which have had more than two full seasons of racing and who are contractually secure. Other drivers realistically faced little threat but did not satisfy this criteria.

The point is, in my opinion, by introducing more young drivers into Formula One it will in fact reduce the number of opportunities for future talent. If our goal is to ultimately see a greater number of drivers (or talent) reach the pinnacle of the sport we should either be increasing driver turn-over or reducing costs to allow more teams. Otherwise, the two are mutually exclusive.

By increasing the number of drivers of the age of Hamilton, Vettal or even Alonso (in 2001 he was just 19), it is only limiting the number of serious opportunities for new drivers in the future through occupying the limited number of seats for longer.

Correspondingly, by reducing the entry age into Formula One, it is also accelerating the financial prerequisites for national competition. If a driver makes his F1 debut aged 20 or 21, an ideal (and mostly typical) career path suggests at least one year of GP2 (aged 19), probably two years of Formula Three (aged 18 and 17), two years of Formula Renault or similar (aged 17 and 16) and largely, a childhood of karting. Furthermore, encouragement of younger drivers in Formula One, leads to drivers starting earlier and to compete in such highly expensive series at such young ages requires either the support of a generous patron or the benefit of a particularly wealthy upbringing.

In the end, all that happens is that those who needed opportunity, are still without, but instead this time for longer. What we really need is for motor sport to cease its obsession with adolescence and slow down. There is nothing wrong with entering Formula One at 25 or 26. In actual fact, it’s probably better for the sport.

Let’s start off by setting the background. For the first time in 18-years, 2005 saw the FIA have a real World Touring Car Championship. Perhaps learning from mistakes made by its predecessors (during 1987 and 1993-1995), nearly every major motor manufacturer pledged its support to the series, underlining its importance to the global automobile industry. Thankfully, after two successful years, the WTCC is healthy and prosperous worldwide. Overall, it is held in incredibly high regard and throughout the motorsport industry it is seen as the second most important circuit-racing championship organised by the FIA (second only to Formula One). What was largely missing, however, was youth.

The best touring car drivers come from single seaters, fact. To support this, you only need to look at the 2006 top-five: Andy Prialux (British Formula Renault, Formula Three), Jƒ¶rg Mƒ¼ller (German Formula Three Champion, Macau Winner), Augusto Farfus (Italian Formula Renault Champion, European Formula 3000 Champion), Yvan Muller (British Formula 2 Champion), Gabriele Tarquini (Formula One). Up until now, the WTCC had no connection to a particular single seater series.

Enter International Formula Master. Beginning this year, it will be a pan-European championship spanning all eight WTCC weekends in Europe. The problem is, that’s already a tightly occupied space.

The Formula Master car uses a carbon Tatuus chassis, Yokohama rubber and a 2-litre 250BHP engine of unannounced origin. It therefore enters in direct competition to both Formula Renault Eurocup and also the Formula Three Euro Series. In order to evaluate how the new Formula Master series weighs up against the two already established series’, let’s start with a brief technical comparison.

Demonstrating a further relationship with the WTCC and its manufacturer’s priorities, Formula Master is, as far as I’m aware, the first single seater series outside of Formula One to explore hybrid technology. Using a combination of regenerative braking and electric motor boost, it could be introduced as early as 2008.

Like Formula Renault, Formula Master uses a carbon fibre Tatuus chassis, made to the latest Formula Three safety regulations. It’s too early to say whether the chassis have any deeper similarities as do Formula Renault and New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series. The wheelbase is substantially larger than a Formula Renault, so I suspect not.

Engine wise, they’re looking aggressive with more power than both Formula Renault and Formula Three (even if you assume the Mercedes power plant has slightly more than 200BHP) and less weight. Although we don’t know the manufacturer at this point, N.Technology, the series organisers, are best known for developing Alfa Romeo’s WTCC cars. Couple this with Alfa Romeo expressing its desire to introduce its own carbon-friendly technologies into touring cars, it is definitely suggestive. On the other hand, the engine tuner, Heini Mader Racing Components have also previously developed for Metachrome (Renault), BMW, Ford and Honda. All of which are potential suppliers although each seem equally preoccupied with their own programmes.

From photographs you can see that the aerodynamic package is more similar to Formula Three than Formula Renault. Being more aerodynamically efficient, it will almost certainly offer more cornering grip than a Formula Renault and with more power, produce performance closer to Formula Three.

This is, of course, interesting but a car seldom ensures the survival of a series. Look at Formula Superfund. What is more important is the economics of the series and this is where it really stands out.

Now, for another comparison, this time showing the calendar of each championship.

The Formula Renault Eurocup is part of the World Series by Renault tour and therefore visits seven European countries. Similarly, International Formula Master visits eight through every European WTCC round. By contrast, Formula Three Euro Series appears to have an overwhelming Germanic influence and sees the majority of rounds being held on its nation’s circuits. That being said, it also has the busiest schedule with 11 weekends over six different countries.

Just how important is the calendar anyway? If you compare Formula Three Euro Series to Eurocup Formula Renault, the potential demographics of each championship are distinctly different, largely a result of the Euro Series’ German slant. This immediately gives German drivers a commercial advantage and conversely, makes it significantly more difficult for a non-German driver to sell the series. It is therefore positive that the new International Formula Master really is a pan-European series.

Now let’s take a look at the promotional package for each championship.

Having been to the World Series by Renault meeting at Donington Park in 2006, I have to say that the physical promotion was better than anything I’d experienced before. Renault pour millions into the World Series because, after all, it only serves one purpose. Unfortunately though, the Eurocup does not benefit from the substantial European TV coverage that Formula Renault 3.5 (World Series) has and therefore its overall global presence is much lower.

The Formula Three Euro Series championship is covered live in Germany, Finland, Russia and France. According to the Euro Series website they received “more than 75 hours of television time in Germany” with “a cumulative weekend audience of 3.26 million”. Figures outside of Germany are more difficult to come by.

And then we have International Formula Masters trump card: Eurosport. Eurosport will provide live coverage of every single round at a top audience time (1200 on Saturday and 1315 on Sunday) and is guaranteed by a five-year broadcast contract. Eurosport is available to 108 million homes and has more than 23 million daily viewers. Add that to the obligatory magazine summaries which will be syndicated worldwide and its inclusion on an FIA World championship package, I suspect the overall reach for International Formula Master will far surpass both the Formula Three Euro Series and also Eurocup Formula Renault.

Now for the final comparison, cost. As you would imagine, exact figures are impossible to find and typically vary between teams. For Formula Master, I have made estimates based on the official website and some common sense. For the others, I have based them on my knowledge of the UK equivalents.

Refreshingly, Formula Masters has introduced some unique cost cutting guidelines from the offset. These include amortising capital costs over several seasons, limiting one engine change or rebuild each season, allowing just three sets of gear ratios which are not interchangeable and limiting private testing to seven engine hours (monitored by ECU). Obviously, like Formula Renault, a combination of a single engine and chassis manufacturer has its economic benefits. However it is the restrictions and new initiatives that make Formula Master most encouraging.

So let’s get back to the original question. Do we really need another new series? Market saturation is only good if it is temporary and if through it comes long term change. International Formula Master appears to offer Formula Three performance on a Formula Renault budget but with a far greater presence and a much larger pan-European reach. In 2008, it could be the first carbon-friendly single seater series in the world and actively promote hybrid technology, securing its future alongside the WTCC manufacturers. Finally, to attract the young superstars it will also feature a 250,000EUR prize-fund and possible Formula One test for the series champion (think BMW).

In answer to the question, I think we do, if only to bring a much needed change. If I were the Formula Three Euro Series, I’d be more than just a little concerned.