Fernando Alonso issues statement after recruiting F1 star's son

Fernando Alonso has spoken out as part of an announcement confirming that his A14 Management company has signed the son of a former F1 driver.

Jan Lammers raced in F1 across five different seasons between 1979 and 1992, for teams including Samson Shadow Racing and March F1, although he never scored a point in the sport (it would be reasonable to note, though, that under the modern points system he would've picked up four points across his 23 starts).

Lammers' son Rene is a 17-year-old working his way through the junior formulas now, finishing third in the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship and currently third in the F4 Spanish Championship, with three wins and a quartet of second-place finishes on the board with six races to go.

Alonso, whose A14 driver Gabriel Bortoleto reached F1 this year, called the teenage Lammers one of his group's most promising drivers, but cautioned that trying to predict such a young driver's future is a dangerous game.

Alonso: Lammers extremely fast so far

Speaking after the announcement, the Spaniard said: "Well, I mean, at that age, you never know what the future will bring. Every driver that we take in aged 14 – obviously, we try to help as much as we can to follow their dreams. But ultimately, I think you want to be a professional driver.

"When you are in karting and in junior formulas, you normally have to invest money, and everything is expensive. You need to keep deciding which programme you do the following year depending a little bit on the budget as well.

"So if we can manage to have drivers that are professional and get paid to perform the job in the future, that's already the first goal. To get to F1, obviously, that’s the dream of all the young drivers. And the problem in Formula 1 is that there are only 22 [seats]. That’s the only filter that you need to go through eventually. But he has the talent.

"He has been extremely fast in karting, attracted the attention of many Formula 4 teams, and he’s doing very well in single-seaters. So for sure, he’s one of the most promising drivers we have in the academy.”

F1 HEADLINES: Max Verstappen absences confirmed as Red Bull bosses hold crisis meeting

READ MORE: Zak Brown announces $4.1billion McLaren sale

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver 'set for F1 exit' as 2026 switch confirmed

READ MORE: Racing star ruled OUT of Singapore Grand Prix after fracturing foot

Related