Oliver Stewart’s debut season in the F4 British Championship has given him the drive for future success.
Beauly teenager Stewart was handed the opportunity to make the step up at the start of this year, following an impressive kart-racing career.
Across 10 events, 15-year-old Stewart claimed an outright race victory at Thruxton in August, along with numerous rookie cup trophies.
As part of the Hitech GP team, he finished 10th out of 22 drivers.
Stewart, who turns 16 in January, is now awaiting confirmation on what next season will hold for him.
He has been given an exciting opportunity to test at F3 level in an event at Silverstone next month.
In the meantime, Stewart is continuing to spend extensive hours training on a high-performance racing simulator which has been installed in his house.
The simulator allows him to replicate a race on any track in the UK.
Sponsorship from the likes of Ross-Shire Engineering and Ord Industrial Supplies has helped to bridge the funding gap required to compete, with Stewart hoping to continue his rapid climb up the racing ladder.
Stewart said: “It’s a lot of effort. I’m on the simulator about six hours a day, nearly every day.
“All the stuff we have to do and focus on is pretty intense. There is also intense training fitness-wise, plus the mental game has got to be up there as well.
“There’s a massive amount of pressure on everyone, from my mum and dad getting funds together, plus me getting results.
“A single mistake can be very big – towards getting a good result this year and getting on the grid next year.
“It’s a big commitment and I just need to make sure I do everything right.
“I appreciate everything that has ever been done for me. It was pretty amazing to even be racing at a high level in karting, so to be where we are, the money that takes is phenomenal.
“As a family, it’s simply way out of our price range to be able to afford something like this.
“Next year we are not sure what’s going to be happening, so the sponsorship is absolutely needed for us to be on the grid.”
Teenager recalls Croft lead as key step in journey over season
Stewart’s victory at Thruxton was a clear highlight of his maiden F4 campaign.
He considers an event at Croft just two months beforehand as a breakthrough moment for him, which gave him the confidence to launch his season.
The Charleston Academy pupil added: “In race three at Croft I started eighth or ninth. I made up places, but there was then a bad incident and a red flag.
“After the restart, I was third and made a really good start and got into first. I had a gap ahead of second, but at that point I had used the best of my tyres.
“I thought nobody was going to catch me and I kept pushing, but then the safety car came out which brought everyone back together.
“At that point my race was practically over, because everyone had much fresher tyres than me.
“It was just a case of holding on.
“At that point, when I was leading a race by more than a second in a non-reverse grid race against the top drivers in the UK, it felt amazing.
“It was a confidence boost which gave me the knowledge that I could do it.
“It showed that all the hard work we had put in had really given us something to look at.
“That ultimately drove us on for the rest of the season, and the win at Thruxton came pretty soon after that.”
Stewart carries lasting tribute to father’s late friend
Racing very much runs in the Stewart family.
His father Jeff was a kart-racing driver, who competed at the British Championships.
In his own racing career, Stewart maintains a lasting tribute to Jeff’s late best friend David Henderson, who died in his teens.
Stewart added: “On the front of my helmet, I have Haggis and number 17.
“It is for a young boy who my dad was friends with from a very young age, who got leukaemia and passed away at 14.
“It was a very sad time for his family, and my father who was best friends with him at the time.
“He always wanted a Team Haggis racing team, and he raced number 17. His motto was: ‘no guts, no glory’.
“When it came to my dad, he raced the same number as he did, with Haggis on his kart as well.
“Since I came along, I have done the same as well.
“Although I wasn’t born when David was alive, it feels heartwarming to represent someone who has had a massive impact on our family.
“Hopefully we can bring success to that story.”
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