The next Lewis Hamilton? Ferrari confirm signing of British racing star

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Ferrari

The next Lewis Hamilton? Ferrari confirm signing of British racing star

A new British racing star is emerging at Ferrari

By Sheona Mountford.

Monday 31 March 2025 21:00

Ferrari have announced a new signing, with young British racer Noah Baglin joining their driver academy.

Bringing through young talent is crucial for any Formula 1 team and since 2009, the Ferrari Driver Academy has been doing just that. Lewis Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc came through the system, for example, as did current Haas star Ollie Bearman.

Jerome d'Ambrosio is currently the head of the academy, and Dino Beganovic will be the first Ferrari youngster to take part in an FP1 session in 2025 at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he will drive Leclerc’s SF-25.

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Ferrari have recently added a sixth driver to their academy, with 13-year-old Baglin joining Beganovic, Maya Weug, Aurelia Nobels, Tuukka Taponen and Rafael Camara in the F1 team's young driver pipeline.

Who is Ferrari's new driver Noah Baglin?

In 2023, Baglin began racing in Italy and on the international stage, where he won the ACI & Trofeo Delle Industrie championship, and finished on the podium in the SKUSA Supernats in Las Vegas.

Last year, the youngster was the highest-placed rookie in the European OKJ FIA championship, also boasting the accolade of the number 1 driver in the FIA Karting Ranking.

It is impossible to ignore the similarities between Baglin and Hamilton, who also burst onto the karting scene in the 1990s and achieved multiple titles.

Like Baglin, Hamilton also signed his first contract with an F1 team when he was 13 years old, joining McLaren's young driver program in 1998 and where a decade later he won his first F1 world title.

Baglin will continue his karting career in 2025, and if successful could move up to single-seater racing series in regional championships, where he will prove his abilities to jump up the feeder series system and into Formula 3 or 2.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari McLaren Charles Leclerc F1 Jerome d'Ambrosio