The charity supporting, trials bike-riding Sheffield teenager is getting ready for his single-seater debut in British F4
My preparations for my debut year in single-seaters, in British Formula 4 with Argenti Motorsport, are going really well. We’re in a mad frantic testing period, where we’re out in the car almost every week, plus I try and fit as much training in as I can, and I have sim sessions before the on-track sessions. I’m maximising the time we’ve got on track and learning and absorbing as much knowledge as I can before the season start.
British F4 was a natural progression after a successful time in karting. As a member of Arden’s Young Racing Drivers Academy we got moved towards testing and bought a Mygale and did almost 10,000 miles in that, gaining track knowledge and learning how to drive a single-seater effectively. I also did a lot of simulator prep with Arden; YRDA did wonders for me in developing me as a driver.
Arden doesn’t do British F4 anymore, it does GB4, and we wouldn’t race without a halo. The plan has always been British F4, and we went for a test with Argenti late last year and felt natural chemistry. It’s a mega team, really switched on. We went for a couple more tests and Argenti offered us a seat for this year and we were really happy to snap that up. We had other offers on the table, but Argenti felt the best fit.
Pre-season testing’s been going really well. I’m really happy how me and my team-mate Yuanpu Cui have been getting on. The team is doing a stellar job and it’s really throwing the kitchen sink at Yuanpu and me and we have had strong pace.
This year purely is a learning year, so there’s zero expectation. I’m going to enjoy it, learn as much as I can – just be a giant sponge and absorb everything – complete every lap, and maximise the opportunity with a view to come back to British F4 next year and excel and hopefully come away with the championship.
My ultimate goal is Formula 1 World champion. I wouldn’t want to go to F1 if
I wasn’t going to be competitive. I want to win. I don’t want to go into a weekend thinking the best possible result is a P12. That’s not what I race for.
Believe it or not, my motorsport journey started with electric trials bikes, on two wheels going over objects with my dad when I was three to five years old. I was always a really outdoorsy kid, and in Sheffield we live right next to the Peak District. Petrol trials bikes normally are very restricted because of their noise, but with electric ones you can pretty much ride them wherever. I loved that.
I then moved into karting. I went for a go indoor karting as one of our family friends owned an indoor karting track in Pontefract near Sheffield. I fell in love with it, so I used to go there on a Wednesday night after school. We bought a Bambino kart to get started and moved through the ranks, winning in junior, senior and categories: Junior X30, Senior X30 and the Daniel Ricciardo Series, which is a onemake, one-engine, one-chassis championship.
We’ve won DRS in junior in 2021, becoming the youngest-ever champion, and in Senior DRS we won my debut race. We also won my debut race at Senior X30. So karting’s been mega to me.
Alongside my racing I do charity work.
It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice, and I try and live by that. Giving back to the community has been ingrained in me since a young age.
The Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity just felt like a right fit. I was in there with some chest problems when I was three or four weeks old, and it’s nice to give back something that’s helped me and that will continue to strive and help kids. They’re currently building a new helipad on top of the hospital.
I’ve done lots of fundraiser events: we’ve put the car in Meadowhall and Crystal Peaks – two Sheffield shopping centres – where you could come and see the car, and pay a little donation to have a go on the simulator we had there. We did a charity abseil and lots of charity auctions, such as auctioning off karting days where you can come karting with me for a day. There’s also some stuff in the works that will be going out very soon. It’s incredible work to do.