Leading Dutch single-seater team MP Motorsport has kicked off its 30th anniversary season by opening the doors of its Westmaas headquarters to its fans and revealing a BOLD livery for its Formula 2 car. Hundreds of the team’s most loyal supporters witnessed driver Richard Verschoor unveil the new colours of his F2 machine while they also enjoyed simulator games, engine demonstrations and a mix of concentration and agility challenges that racing drivers use to prepare for a race.
Propelled by the motto ‘BOLD defines us’, the unveiling of a very special orange livery for Richard Verschoor’s Formula 2 car – next to team mate Oliver Goethe’s Red Bull-backed entry – was the highlight of the day, just 72 hours ahead of the team first turning wheels at the collective FIA F2 and FIA F3 tests at Barcelona. Straight after, the cars will be flown out to Melbourne for the opening round of both championships.
“This livery reveal is a very special moment for me”, said an ebullient Verschoor. “It’s the start of one final push with the team, and our aim is no less than the Formula 2 title. I feel like I’ve almost come full circle with the team, having started my single-seater career with MP back in 2016 – and very successfully so, with two Formula 4 championships in the bag at the end of the season. So let’s go out and write a BOLD new chapter to close that circle with another title!”
Celebrating 30 years of MP Motorsport
The open house on Sunday 16 February commemorated the team’s founding as a modest Formula Ford team in 1995, when Cock Kool started his MultiPromo team as a multi-branded platform for his racing sons Ferdinand and Mervyn. Soon shortened to MP, the team ran Kool Sr himself and other drivers, including Klaas van Straaten, Walter van Lent and Vincent van der Valk, until Ferdinand was old enough to progress from karts in 2000. In 1997 the team moved into its first proper premises in Oudenbosch, and with Patrick Koel, the team took its first title in 2000.
In 2001, Arie van der Hoek bought the team from Kool as a career vehicle for his son Adri, while Dick van der Wilt, who has remained with the team until this day, took over team management duties. Success followed in 2002, when Jaap van Lagen claimed the team’s second title. In 2003, the team changed allegiance to the Benelux Formula Renault championship, while in the next two years, the team’s two main faces joined – team principal Sander Dorsman came along as a driver manager to Ricardo van der Ende in 2004, while current owner Henk de Jong came on board as a sponsor to Bas Lammers. The two hit it off immediately, and when Van der Hoek decided to sell the team to De Jong, Dorsman stayed on as its team principal.
Led by Dorsman, the team soon reached the Formula Renault Eurocup after which years of rapid expansion followed, as well as a move to its current headquarters at Westmaas and a merger with Manor Motorsport. In more recent years, the first four stepping stones – GP2, AutoGP, GP3, NEZ & Spanish F4 – morphed into FIA F2, FIA F3, FRECA, Eurocup-3, F4 Spanish and F1 Academy to create MP’s presence in the entire single-seater ladder towards Formula 1. The team ran some big names, from Nick Catsburg, Jordan King, Oliver Rowland and Marco Sørensen to Dennis Olsen, Liam Lawson, Felipe Drugovich and Franco Colapinto. Today, MP Motorsport is one of the powerhouses in European single-seater racing, proudly justifying its ‘Accelerating Talent’ motto every weekend on the track. At the same time, MP still embodies the family spirit with which Cock Kool started his small Formula Ford outfit.
“It’s very special to have reached this milestone, which I couldn’t have imagined when I bought the team some twenty years ago”, said an emotional Henk de Jong. “Sander’s guidance has been nothing short of exceptional. For several years, we expanded our programme along with the steps that my son Daniël took on the single-seater ladder. But make no mistake: Daniël’s career and MP Motorsport have always been two separate things. Even without Daniël, MP Motorsport will forever be my true love. My passion for motor racing has been my biggest motivator to turn MP Motorsport into a successful outfit, and the team’s Formula 2 titles in 2022 were certainly the crowning glory.”
“Time flies when you’re living the dream”, said team principal Sander Dorsman, looking back on his twenty years with the team. “It’s been two exciting decades for me, sometimes nerve-wracking and frustating, with some very sad moments that include losing a few very dear people, but mostly it has been satisfying and life-fulfilling. At MP, we are a family that continues to live for racing, and we are eager for many more trophies in the years to come.”
Preparing for a strong 2025 season
In 2025, the team will go on a five-pronged attack in FIA F2, FIA F3, Eurocup-3, F4 Spanish and F1 Academy. This is how the five MP squads will look like this year:
FIA F2
Drivers: Richard Verschoor, Oliver Goethe
Car: Dallara-Mécachrome F2-2024
Having teamed up for the final two rounds of the 2024 season, Verschoor and Goethe will continue as team mates into 2025. The experienced Dutchman is expected to lead the team but don’t rule out the young German who joined the team on the back of a strong second season in FIA F3.
FIA F3
Drivers: Tim Tramnitz, Bruno Del Pino, Alessandro Giusti
Car: Dallara-Mécachrome F3-2025
All eyes are on sophomore Tramnitz as one of the quickest drivers to remain in the championship in 2025, having already won with MP in his debut F3 season. The German is joined by Del Pino and Giusti, two exciting rookies with a race-winning pedigree in Eurocup-3 and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine respectively.
Eurocup-3
Drivers: Emerson Fittipaldi Jr, Valerio Rinicella, Alexander Abkhazava, Mattia Colnaghi, Maciej Gładysz, Andrés Cardénas
Car: Tatuus-Alfa Romeo F3-T318
At Formula Regional level, MP is focusing on Eurocup-3 this year with a line-up that no less strong than last year’s title-winning proposition. Of the six, Fittipaldi, Rinicella and Abkhazava are the experienced campaigners but Colnaghi (the reiging F4 Spanish champion), Gładysz and Cardénas are three of the best rookies to progress from F4.
F4 Spanish Championship
Drivers: René Lammers, Hudson Schwartz, Ean Eyckmans, Niklas Schaufler, TBA, TBA
Car: Tatuus-Abarth F4-T021
MP’s line-up in the F4 Spanish Championship mirrors its Eurocup-3 challenge in strength and depth, with Lammers bringing valuable previous F4 experience, while Schwartz, Eyckmans and Schaufler are three prospects moving up from karts who have already proven their speed in the Spanish Winter Championship. Two spots in the team are still officially open but very close to final confirmation – expect two experienced F4 drivers to fill these seats.
F1 Academy
Drivers: Maya Weug, Alba Hurup Larsen, TBA
Car: Tatuus-Abarth F4-T014
As one of last season’s top drivers, Ferrari junior Maya Weug moves across to lead the MP line-up in F1 Academy, backed up by the youngest driver in the series, talented Danish 16-year-old Alba Hurup Larsen, and another driver still to be confirmed.
Follow us: