New Zealand’s Next Wave of Aspiring Formula 1 drivers

’Kiwi nose job on Lone Star J.R.’s McLaren (DOB)

Have never heard of the featured Kiwi named Richie Stanaway, although I’ve joked ‘bout Mitch Evans being an Unlimited Hydroplane driver here in the Pacific Northwest... Hey, there really is ‘Juan! While Brendon Hartley was given the Helmut Marko baby in-duh-bathwater Red Bull Junior driver treatment - amongst several others!

The other Mitch Evans, the 18-years old ‘Kiwi from Auckland has just won this year’s GP3 championship driving for the MW Arden team, with the  initials MW belonging to some ‘Aussie Gran Primo Piloto named Mark Webber, while  Arden is the name of the GP2 squad owned by Red Bull Racing’s F1 team manager Christian Horner. As reputedly ‘Ol ‘Handlebarz (Webber) has taken the rising young Kiwi star Mitchell under his proverbial wing...

Meanwhile Brendon Hartley has since been picked up by Mercedes AMG Petronas organization as part of its “Young Lion’s” club, also featuring the likes of thee Young ‘Wicky, aka Robert Wichens, whom I’m still expecting to be Oh ‘KanaDuh’s next F1 piloto.

Brendon, a Mercedes simulator “Jockey,”  got the chance to reacclimatize himself with a Formula 1 racecar for the first time in four years when he took part of the now  what has become very skewed Young Drivers testing at Magny Cours mid-September behind the wheel of a Mercedes MGP W03 F1 chassis before handing over to Britain’s Sam Byrd...

Which leads us to Messer Stanaway, who I’ve never heard of before, albeit supposedly he’s had funding help from the same benefactors that helped out some dude named Scott Dixon...

Richie Stanaway interview

So, will we see another New Zealander make his way into formula 1 in the future? Stay tuned...

And it seemed pretty ironic that the Karmic whip would snap once again whilst reviewing the latest posts, that I’d come upon the headline titled Remembering Denny Hulme... As I cannot believe it’s already been 20-years since the “Bear” left us; CRIKEYS!

As Denny is currently New Zealand’s only Formula 1 world champion to date, not to mention having raced at Indianapolis along with being a very accomplished sports Car driver. Yet, when I think of the name Denny Hulme, I immediately think of those all conquering McLaren Can Am cars... You know the ones so brilliantly dominant that the series became known as “The Bruce & Denny Show” for many years, before finally being dethroned by those Porsche 917/10 & 917/30 Panzerwagons driven by The Captain’s (Roger Penske) duo of George Folmer & Mark Donohue...

Remembering Denny Hulme

(Photo Courtesy of No Fenders ‘Offical Photographer ‘CARPETS)