The Ferrari Driver Academy has presented this year’s class to officially kick start the season, which will see seven of its eight drivers debut in their respective categories.
In addition to six returning drivers, two new faces were presented: the Finn Tuukka Taponen, who won the FDA Scouting World Finals and the Brazilian Aurelia Nobels, winner of the FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars programme. Both drivers will be competing in Formula 4 this year, alongside the returning James Wharton.
17-year-old Rafael Camara and 18-year-old Maya Weug will both take a step up and compete in the European Formula Regional
Current European Formula Regional champion Dino Beganovic will make the step up to Formula 3, staying with Prema with the goal to fight for the championship right away.
2022 F3 title contenders Oliver Bearman and Arthur Leclerc will be making their debut in Formula 2. 17-year-old Bearman will be staying with Prema, while 22-year-old Leclerc will make the switch to DAMS.
“The start of a new academic year is always a very special moment,” Marco Matassa, head of the FDA said.
“It’s good to meet up again with our existing students and even more special to open the doors to our new ones.
“It’s going to be a particularly demanding season because seven of the eight of them will be rookies in their category and so they face an even tougher challenge.
“In 2022, we were back winning titles again and, for our part, we are ready to do our utmost, investing even more in terms of the facilities and personnel that we will put at the disposal of our youngsters, to help and support them in obtaining the results of which we know they are capable.
“A special welcome goes to our newcomers, Aurelia Nobels and Tuukka Taponen, the latest graduates of our scouting programme.
“Aurelia joins the FDA from the programme we run with the FIA, which has already proved successful with Maya Weug, while Tuukka was the most outstanding of the youngsters who came to Maranello for the third edition of the FDA Scouting World Finals, where all those taking part were of a very high standard.
“We are looking forward to starting work with them and the other students in the hope that we have a successful year together.”
