British Formula 1 fans have another young star to cheer on in the form of a 17-year-old who has already followed in the footsteps of Lando Norris and George Russell.
Zak O'Sullivan, 17, completed his first season in Formula 3 this year. He finished 11th in the standings, while gaining valuable international single-seater racing experience after winning the UK-based GB3 championship last year.
And this week, he tested an F1 car for the first time, completing 32 laps at Silverstone in Aston Martin's AMR21 – the car driven by Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll in the 2021 world championship. That opportunity came about as a result of him winning the Autosport Young Driver of the Year award earlier this year.
It was on his 17th birthday in February that he received the award at a star-studded ceremony in London, adding his name to a list of past recipients which includes both Norris and Russell as well as the likes of Jenson Button, David Coulthard and Paul di Resta.
As part of his prize, he was given the chance to complete that F1 test which was carried out this week. O'Sullivan hopes it will be a platform upon which he can build towards achieving his dream of racing full-time in the series in the future.
"It was an amazing experience to drive an F1 car for the first time," said the teenager. "It's a big step up from anything I've ever driven before but I absolutely loved it. I gained more confidence with every lap and was really pushing hard by the end!"
His coach Kieren Clark added: "We are incredibly pleased – and not at all surprised – with Zak's top-notch performance at his first F1 test. Together we have been preparing for an opportunity like this for several years, and he showed today why he was crowned winner of the award in the first place."
O'Sullivan has already been snapped up by Williams as a member of their driver development programme. He will no doubt look at the team's decision to promote another academy graduate, Logan Sargeant, to an F1 race seat in 2023 as evidence that he may get the opportunity he craves if he can put in the performances to prove he is worthy.
But first he must continue to make his way up the ranks. An impressive first season in F3 saw him beat his Carlin team-mates and secure several podiums, most notably a second-placed finish in the feature race in front of his home crowd at the British Grand Prix in July.
