The 2023 FDA Scouting World Finals was one of the most closely contested of all time. In terms of the results, both on track and when it came to the various attitudinal tests, four of the six drivers were pretty much at the same level and therefore, it was not easy for the Ferrari Driver Academy experts to choose a winner. In the end, that honour went to Dutchman René Lammers, who was also the least experienced of the bunch.
Compact group. Born in 2008, the son of Jan Lammers who raced in Formula 1 from the Seventies to the Nineties, René came out on top of the group that came from three continents: Italy’s Emanuel Olivieri, William Go from the Philippines, the Brazilian Pedro Clerot, the Colombian Pedro Juan Morenao and, from Taipei, Enzo Yeh. According to the Ferrari Driver Academy judges, Lammers stood out especially because of his consistent pace, his car control and the mental strength he demonstrated throughout the evaluation camp.
Keeping an eye on talent. In order to assess whether a driver is ready to start studying at the Academy, the engineers on the Ferrari young driver programme base their decisions on a series of parameters and from all the information gathered, they felt that neither Lammers nor the other candidates were ready yet. However, their progress will be closely monitored as they continue their racing programmes in 2024. In fact, Tuukka Taponen tackled the FDA Scouting World Finals twice before being admitted to the Academy, so there is still every chance that René and the others could have a future with the Prancing Horse.
Marco Matassa, Head of Ferrari Driver Academy: “This was one of the closest Scouting World Finals we have ever witnessed, with so many drivers at the same level. We congratulate René for coming out on top, especially as he had the disadvantage of being the least experienced of the group. We wish him the best of luck in 2024. He is really promising, we believe he can make progress and our paths might well cross in the future. I also want to congratulate Emanuele, William, Pedro Juan and Enzo for having been contenders right to the very end, and we send them our best wishes for their future in motorsport.”