16-Year-Old NI Driver Joins Red Bull Academy.

Posted 2 months ago

A 16-year-old racing driver from Northern Ireland has been given the dream opportunity to join the Red Bull Racing Academy.

Magherafelt's Fionn McLaughlin, 16, has secured a spot in the Red Bull Racing Academy after a highly competitive evaluation week. He was one of 11 candidates from the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Lebanon, and Mexico.

McLaughlin and Sweden's Scott Lindblom were the first selected to join the program. The three-day event, held at the Jerez circuit in Spain, featured young drivers testing open-wheel F4 and GP3 racing cars in a shootout format.

New talents like McLaughlin join the ranks of current F1 stars such as Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, and Daniel Ricciardo, who also came through the Red Bull junior driver development program.

McLaughlin began karting at five and was winning championships across Ireland by age seven.