Beauly’s Oliver Stewart will make his F4 British Championship debut this weekend when he takes part in the opening round at Donnington Park.
This weekend is the first of nine events throughout the season, each comprising of three races.
Starting with qualifying on Saturday morning, 15-year-old Stewart will take his first steps with the Hitech GP team after being signed up earlier this year.
It followed a thoroughly successful career in karting, which saw him finish fourth in the Junior X30 section of the UK British Kart Championship last year.
The F4 British Championship is recognised as the first step for drivers with aspirations to progress from karting.
Current Formula One driver Lando Norris was the winner of the Championship’s inaugural season in 2015.
Although he is still early in his transition, Stewart is excited about the challenge in front of him.
He said: “It’s absolutely amazing, I was overwhelmed when I was telling people I was signed up to do the year.
“Getting an opportunity like this is something I will never forget. I’m just really grateful for it.
“It’s a completely different experience to anything I have done before.
“I have had to adapt to the weight transfer. A kart obviously doesn’t have any suspension while a car does, so every time you come up to a corner you need to make sure the weight is on the outside tyre to get around the corner faster.
“I also need to get used to the braking, and it’s a completely different driving style as I’m going three times the speed.”
Stewart impressed by attention to detail
Stewart is joined in the Hitech GP team by Daniel Mavlyutov, Alex Dunne and Eduardo Coseteng.
Having travelled south to the Derby circuit, Stewart says the level of preparation required is a new experience for him.
He added: “We got two 45-minute free practices on Thursday.
“It’s been difficult, because I have done 13 days in the car and a lot of people have done much more than me.
“In the first practice we ended up 11th and there were a few things to overcome, as on my fastest lap I still made a few mistakes.
“In the second session I was sitting in seventh or eighth for the entire time, before the red flag came and we didn’t go back out.
“When everyone else came out the track improved, so I got knocked down to 12th.
“We did a debrief with the team about the rules and regulations.
“We did debriefs in karting but not to this kind of level. This is a majorly different experience, as there are four engineers, as well as myself and all the drivers sitting down at a table talking for around an hour and a half.
“We spoke about what we need to know for the weekend and what we need to do and not do, and what we need to do as a team to improve.
“It’s a big jump.”
Teenager keeping a lid on expectations
Stewart, who is a fourth-year pupil at Charleston Academy, insists he is not putting undue pressure on himself in his maiden F4 season.
He added: “In my first year I don’t feel like I can have any expectations, as I don’t really know what to expect.
“It’s as tough as it’s ever been this year. There are drivers who have raced at World Championship level in karting, and others who have done two or three years in cars.
“It’s a good jump, and especially for me coming straight from karting to cars.
“I would like to get a few podiums, and a few wins throughout the season. It will be extremely difficult.
“Winning the championship in my first year is a huge ask, but I would love for it to happen so I will do everything I possibly can.”
