17-year-old American named development driver at Haas F1

The Haas F1 team has named American teenager Santino Ferrucci as its development driver.

The 17-year-old from Connecticut is also competing this year in GP3 with the DAMS team, with whom Haas race driver Romain Grosjean won the 2011 GP2 title.

Haas says that Ferrucci will be “embedded with Haas F1 Team at every opportunity, attending races and tests throughout the year while also participating in the team’s simulator program.”

“Santino Ferrucci has done a very good job of proving himself in each of the racing series he’s competed in, and his maturity outside of the race car is impressive,” said team boss Guenther Steiner. “We see Santino as a young, American driver with a lot of potential. His opportunity with DAMS is an excellent way for him to further his development while positioning Haas F1 Team for future success.”

“My goal since I first started racing was to become a Formula One driver,” said Ferrucci. “And to be an American who is part of an American team is something I take a tremendous amount of pride in. There is still a lot of work I need to do, but being paired with Haas F1 Team will allow me to learn more and at a faster rate. It’ll allow me to make the most of my GP3 drive with DAMS and, ultimately, prepare me for F1.”

Ferrucci moved from karts to cars in 2013, competing in Formula 2000 and the Skip Barber Racing Series, earning five wins in the latter that season. He moved up to Euro F3 in 2014, finishing 19th in his first season, and 11th last year.

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