Ferrari signs young Canadian kart star Stroll

Last summer, I wrote a column about karting and mentioned a little guy from Montreal named Lance Stroll, who’d already been marked for greatness at the age of 10.

(For that column, click here.)

He was being coached at the time by six-time World Kart Champion Mike Wilson from England. Prior to last summer, the only time previously that Wilson had come to Canada was in 1998 for the FIA North American Karting Championships that were held on the kart track at Mosport.

His driver then? A kid from Spain named Fernando Alonso.

Wilson doesn’t waste his time with posers, apparently. The news today is that young Lance Stroll, who’s now the ripe old age of 11, has been signed by Ferrari’s driver development program.

James Allen (you remember him – he was the play-by-play announcer for years when Britain’s ITV had the contract to broadcast Formula One races) reported on his website today that Stroll is the “youngest member of the recently formed Ferrari Driver Academy, which is managed by former Ferrari race engineer Luca Baldisserri.”

Baldisserri is a great friend of Eric Jensen, the Canadian team owner in Formula BMW and Atlantics.

Allen notes that Stroll’s signing parallels the system that McLaren has had for years that saw Lewis Hamilton join the program when he was 13.

Allen says Stroll finished sixth in the world finals in his category last year and has won Canadian and U.S. championships.

“He is young but he has already shown that he is exceptionally talented,” Baldisserri said in a release. “We will follow him step by step and he will take part in our courses at Maranello.”

It is symbolic that Ferrari chose to make the announcement of the young Canadian’s signing on the eve of the Canadian Grand Prix, which is returning to Montreal after a year’s absence.

The last Canadian to sign with the famous Italian marque was the legendary Gilles Villeneuve, after whom the circuit where the GP will be held is named.

 

 

Comments

[dj]

How did Brian Stewart miss this guy...this kid will go far,his Dad has 500 Million to burn.