Driver development program
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A driver development program (or driver development team) is a system or structure designed for young kart and race car drivers to learn and perfect their racing skills. These programmes are devised by racing teams, external companies and funded partnerships primarily to attract and develop future racing talent. Most programmes now employ a wide range of skilled coaches and technologies to train all of the physical and psychological abilities inherent in driving at the limit and winning races. Most racing teams will sign a driver to a multi-year contract in which they fund or part fund the driver in junior formulas (such as Formula 3 and Formula 2 in Europe, and Late models and ARCA in stock car racing) and gradually help them succeed to the highest levels of motorsport. Some teams have been criticized for unfair long-term and low-paying contracts for the talented drivers they find whilst also charging the less talented drivers very high fees for the use of their simulations and facilities. Companies that specialise in racing driver training or development programmes remain commercially viable through selling time in their simulators or gyms and generally speaking do not fund a drivers career. Funded partnerships, good driver management companies and driver search and development initiatives will fund or part fund a drivers development and will survive as long as the owners financial commitment and or success at recouping their investment. Be that a return from a talented drivers wages or a promotional exercise designed by a brand or corporation.
The following is a list of teams that currently have a driver development programs or are driver development teams.
Open wheel racing
- Alpine Academy – Alpine F1 Team Driver Programme
- Ferrari Driver Academy – Scuderia Ferrari Driver Programme
- Mercedes Junior Team – Mercedes AMG Petronas Driver Programme
- McLaren Young Driver Programme – McLaren F1 team Driver Programme
- Red Bull Junior Team – Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri Driver Programme
- Sauber Junior Team – Alfa Romeo Racing Driver Programme
- Williams Driver Academy – Williams F1 Team Driver Programme
- AMF1 Driver Development Programme – Aston Martin F1 Driver Programme
- Andretti Autosport – Hunter McElrea, Louis Foster (both Indy NXT)
- Chip Ganassi Racing – Kyffin Simpson (Indy NXT)
- Dale Coyne Racing – Christian Bogle, Danial Frost, Nolan Siegel, Josh Green, Christian Rasmussen, Rasmus Lindh(all Indy NXT)
- Ed Carpenter Racing – Josh Pierson (Indy NXT)
NASCAR
All of these teams have their own developmental driver programs and/or field cars/trucks on their team for developmental drivers.
- DGR-Crosley (also part of Ford Performance)
- Hailie Deegan
- Tanner Gray
- Taylor Gray
- Thad Moffitt
- GMS Racing and JR Motorsports (Drivers Edge Development)[1]
- Tyler Ankrum
- Josh Berry
- Toni Breidinger
- Jeb Burton
- Sheldon Creed
- Noah Gragson
- David Gravel
- Carson Hocevar
- Adam Lemke
- Sam Mayer
- Brett Moffitt
- Connor Mosack
- Zane Smith
- Stewart-Haas Racing (also part of Ford Performance)
- Team Penske (also part of Ford Performance)
- ThorSport Racing (also part of Ford Performance)
See also
References
- ^ Motorsports, J. R. "JR Motorsports, GMS Racing Launch Drivers Edge Development". www.jrmracing.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.