Highly talented Polish teenager Maciej Gładysz has signed with MP Motorsport for his debut season in single-seater racing. The 15-year-old from Tarnów will embark on a campaign in the 2024 Spanish Formula 4 Championship in which the Dutch outfit is currently the reigning teams champion.
Gładysz makes his promotion to single-seaters on the back of a strong final season in karts that saw him compete at OK level in both the FIA Karting European Championship and the WSK Super Master Series. Going into the 2023 season, the Orlen-backed driver had already claimed ultimate glory in the Champions of the Future winter series. Signing early with MP Motorsport will help the youngster to be well prepared once the seven-round Spanish F4 season gets underway at Navarra on 12 May 2024.
“I’m thrilled to have joined MP Motorsport for my first season out of karts”, said Gładysz. “They are a crack squad in single-seaters that have won at every level they have competed in. The highly competitive Spanish F4 Championship is the perfect place for me to start my journey on the road to Formula 1, especially considering MP’s strong form in Spain over the years. I’m really looking forward to working with the guys to create that strong bond between team and driver, and continue MP’s winning streak in the championship.”
“It’s exciting news to be able to announce Maciej so soon into the winter break”, said MP Motorsport’s team principal Sander Dorsman. “Having a young driver of his calibre on board for our 2024 Spanish F4 campaign has all of us buzzing with confidence as we work towards the new season. Maciej has been absolutely outstanding in karts, and now it’s up to us to translate his prodigious talent into strong results in single-seaters. With the bright head on his shoulders that he has, I am certain that we will be able to set some ambitious targets for the coming year.”
Born into a motorsport family with a long tradition in rallying and racing – grandfather Janusz was a rally star while father Adam was a multiple Polish champion in touring cars and GTs – Gładysz made a name for himself as a nine-year-old by becoming a Polish karting champion in only his second year. Expanding his career abroad, the youngster soon hit the top by taking second in the 2019 WSK Super Masters Series while repeating his national title. After signing an Italian works contract, Gładysz won the 2020 WSK Open Cup at Mini level while taking third place in the Trofeo Andrea Margutti before graduating to OK Junior level and lifting the title in the 2021 FIA Karting Academy Trophy. In 2022, Gładysz continued his strong OK Junior form by grabbing fourth in the FIA World Karting Championship and second in the WSK Euro Series.