Young Dutch karting sensation René Lammers has reached an agreement with MP Motorsport to enter the future together. The 15-year-old Zandvoort resident will compete in the Spanish F4 championship in 2024 while preparing for that this winter by racing in the Formula Winter Series in Spain.
Lammers’ preparations got off to a great start with tests at Paul Ricard, Motorland Aragon and Barcelona. The first results from last week were looking good, as Lammers was among the frontrunners and proved to be the fastest rookie.
Negotiations with MP Motorsport were underway when they seemed thwarted by interest from Ferrari. In consultation with MP Motorsport, it was decided that this was an opportunity to take seriously. The Ferrari Driver Academy organised two Scouting Camps, the last of which was the World Finals. Lammers won this competition, but a multi-year deal did not materialise. For now, he prefers to remain independent for as long as he can.
MP Motorsport will be able to guide Lammers to the threshold of Formula 1, but for now Formula 4 is the step the young Dutchman needs to bridge first. MP Motorsport owner Henk de Jong has been a supporter of Lammers from day one.
“Working with MP Motorsport was always our plan A,” said Lammers. “MP has an exceptional track record and races for podiums in all single-seater series it competes in, so I’m looking forward to making my motorsport debut with MP Motorsport. The Spanish Formula 4 Championship is a competitive series and a great stepping stone to the next steps on the single-seater ladder. It’s important for me to know that MP has an equally strong presence in all these series – from the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) to Formula 3 and Formula 2. Moreover, as a Dutchman, it is nice to be working with a Dutch team.”
“We are proud to give René his first race miles in motorsport,” said MP’s team principal Sander Dorsman. “René has turned out to be a huge talent in karting, with a trophy cabinet you can take your hat off to. During the first tests, it was soon apparent that he knows how to effortlessly transfer his pace to single-seaters. With our experience as winners in Formula 4, we hope to contribute to René’s foundation as a racing driver capable of aiming high in the feeder series on the way to Formula 1.”
Lammers will step up to Formula 4 after a highly successful karting career. In the Minis, the teenager won the WSK Euro Series, the Andrea Margutti Trophy, the Trofeo d’Estate and the Trofeo d’Autunno in 2020, while a year later, at the same level, he bagged the titles in both the WSK Super Master Series and WSK Champions Cup. Moreover, in the X30 Juniors, he repeated his Andrea Margutti Trophy victory in his very first race at Junior level. Moving to OKJ in 2022, Lammers finished fifth in the FIA World Championship, while this year, the young Dutchman immediately advanced to OK karts in which he became FIA European Champion, FIA Vice World Champion and FIA Rookie of the Year.
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