Swedish driver Elias Adestam has been confirmed as the first overseas driver for the 2022 GB4 Championship, after confirming his place on the grid with Fortec Motorsport.
The 15-year-old from Nacka near Stockholm has been driving since he was five years old, initially behind the wheel of a homemade ‘cross-kart’ built by his father Rickard, on a custom-made track on his grandfather’s potato field.
He made his karting debut in 2014 at the age of eight, and was a regular front-runner in his homeland. He secured the runner-up position in the 2017 Raket Cup and MKR Series in the Mini category, before graduating into car racing for the first time in 2019.
That year saw him claim fourth place in the Aquila Synergy Cup, a position he improved upon a year later when he finished as runner-up with nine podiums, one pole position and three fastest laps.
Elias also made his single-seater debut in 2020 with two races in the Formula Nordic category at the Ring Knutstorp, taking two seventh places.
Last year he focused solely on a Formula Nordic campaign, impressing greatly by finishing third overall with victories at the Karlskoga Motorstadion and Ring Knutstorp and taking five additional podiums from the 15 races.
His performances have been recognised by touring car legend Rickard Rydell, who presented him with the Rydell Special Award, an accolade previously received by drivers including IndyCar stars Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson.
Elias also runs a charity project named Raising Against Cancer, and uses his motorsport platforms to raise money for cancer research projects, owing to a family history of the illness. He invites children suffering from the disease to attend his events where possible.
In addition, he has also pledged to donate any prize money he earns through the George Russell Pole Position Cup initiative in GB4 to victims of the war in Ukraine. Adestam will personally match any earnings to ensure the overall donation is doubled.
Since the turn of the year, Adestam has since been building up useful mileage in Fortec’s Tatuus F4-T014 GB4 cars, including outings at Brands Hatch and Silverstone, and will now race away from Sweden for the first time. He will partner Jessica Edgar at the team in GB4, and is Fortec’s second Swedish recruit for the season, with Joel Granfors confirmed in the squad’s GB3 line-up. Fortec are planning to confirm a third GB4 driver in the coming weeks.
Elias Adestam commented: "I am thrilled to be heading into my first season of racing outside Sweden, and thankful for the trust Fortec Motorsport has placed in me. Pre-season testing has gone well and I feel comfortable with both the team and the car. I am highly excited heading into the GB4 Championship and I look forward to working hard with the team to deliver the best possible results.”
Fortec Motorsport Team Manager Oliver Dutton said: “We’ve been very impressed by Elias’ performances in testing with us so far. He got quickly up to speed and was producing excellent lap times very quickly, and has been beating our reference times. In addition, his feedback has been very good and it’s fair to say he has a natural talent that should put him right towards the front of the grid with us this year.”
image credits : Mattias Persson