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Audi's Driver Development Programme, launched in January under Racing Director Allan McNish, is already reshaping how the German manufacturer preps talent for its maiden works F1 campaign. The roster is compact—F3's Freddie Slater and F1 ACADEMY's Emma Felbermayr—but the infrastructure runs deep. Former Head of Race Engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara moved over to driver development, and the squad built a full support apparatus: media training, performance scans, engineering education, the works. McNish calls it a "living organism," one that started planning in 2023 and went live this year with a philosophy that allows mistakes as learning tools. Felbermayr leans on mentor Carrie Schreiner, an F1 ACADEMY alum, for race-weekend guidance. The program's stated mission extends beyond finding the next Audi F1 star—it's about shaping drivers for long careers whether they reach the grid or not. For a team entering F1 with zero legacy driver pipeline, that patient foundation could matter when the pressure mounts.
Read the full story at formula1.comWHY AUDI'S DDP IS ABOUT MORE THAN THEIR NEXT F1 STAR
Audi's Driver Development Programme, launched in January under Racing Director Allan McNish, is already reshaping how the German manufacturer preps talent for its maiden works F1 campaign. The roster is compact—F3's Freddie Slater and F1 ACADEMY's Emma Felbermayr—but the infrastructure runs deep. Former Head of Race Engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara moved over to driver development, and the squad built a full support apparatus: media training, performance scans, engineering education, the works. McNish calls it a "living organism," one that started planning in 2023 and went live this year with a philosophy that allows mistakes as learning tools. Felbermayr leans on mentor Carrie Schreiner, an F1 ACADEMY alum, for race-weekend guidance. The program's stated mission extends beyond finding the next Audi F1 star—it's about shaping drivers for long careers whether they reach the grid or not. For a team entering F1 with zero legacy driver pipeline, that patient foundation could matter when the pressure mounts.
