Meet Sebastian Lanzetti, a young South African whose dream of an international racing career got a great boost when he landed a drive to compete in this year’s British Formula 4 racing series.
The 18-year old former SA karting champion was signed by the Hillspeed team after he impressed them with his pace in a test held last month at the Circuito de Calafat in Spain.
He consistently improved his laptimes over the three day test, proving that he has what it takes to compete at an international level and hopefully one day ascend the heights of his namesake, four-times F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Introduced by the FIA last year, Formula 4 is a new open-wheel racing car series that gives junior drivers a stepping stone from karting into more powerful single-seater formulas such as Formula 3 and eventually Formula 1.
There is no global championship, however individual nations in Europe, South America, Asia and Australia host their own championships to a worldwide set of rules and specifications.
Seb’s career began in karts in 2009, and in 2011 he was given a wildcard entry in the prestigious ROK World Finals in Lonato, Italy - he was the youngest ever competitor in the national Super Rok Category.
He also competed in the South African Formula Ford and Formula VW championships, and in 2013 was crowned champion in the x30 Shifter Kart category.
With its 136kW 2-litre engine, Sebastian’s Formula 4 car will make a lot more power than the 125cc kart he’s used to, but this teenage driver from Glenvista in Joburg is raring to go.
“Joining Hillspeed for the 2015 season is almost unvelievable. It’s going to be an amazing start to my international racing career; I can’t wait to get started,” said Lanzetti.
Star Motoring