Lance Stroll – remember this name

Hey, what you talkin’ about Lance?! Young Master Stroll is just eleven years old, but that hasn’t stopped the Maranello team from signing this kid to the Ferrari Driver Academy.

Unsurprisingly the little tacker is pumped at this news, “For me it’s a dream that’s become a reality, an incredible feeling, the best in the world in fact,” said Lance. “I am very excited at the idea of being part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. In the past few months, I was at Maranello, where I met Stefano Domenicali and Luca Baldisseri and also some of my new ‘fellow students.’ This summer I will be going back to take part in some courses.”

Apparently Lance is a dab hand at go karting and Ferrari hope they have the next Lewis Hamilton on their hands. Meanwhile, spare a thought for Nicole Scherzinger who now has to consider her future with old man Hamilton. Surely it would be better look to be jumping around like a prat in a Ferrari garage. She’d fit right in with Felipe’s dad, for a start.

Anyway, Ferrari are so excited about this news that there’s not one, but two press releases after the jump.

FERRARI SIGNS 11 YEAR OLD RACING DRIVER!

The Ferrari Driver Academy, the legendary Formula One team’s school for future Formula One drivers, has signed 11 year old Lance Stroll from Canada as its newest recruit.

Although very young, Lance’s karting curriculum is already impressive enough to have attracted the attention of the Ferrari Driving Academy. His record already includes two wins in the Canadian national championship in the Rotax Mini Max category as well as Coupe de Montreal and Coupe du Quebec Micro Max Championship in 2008 and both Mini Max Championships in 2009.

Last year, Lance finished sixth in the World Finals at Lonato in the Mini Roc category and second in the Rotax Micro Max Florida Winter Tour, a series he won this year in Mini Max along with the championships for the Tag/Cadet Florida Winter Tour. It is no surprise therefore that Lance was nominated by the Fedération Sport Automobile du Quebec as Rookie of the Year in 2008 and Driver of the Year the following year.

“We are pleased to welcome Lance to our group,” commented Luca Baldisserri, who runs the Ferrari Driving Academy. “He is very young, but he has already shown in karting that he is exceptionally talented. We will follow him step by step in his forthcoming events in North America and he will soon also take part in our courses at Maranello.”

Ferrari’s long and illustrious history in Formula One would never have happened if it didn’t have a slew of excellent drivers racing their cars: the Scuderia has, without question, fielded some of the sports’ best drivers. Now, the Italian supercar makers are taking their scouting and talent development to a new level with the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The enthusiasm of young Lance: “It’s the best feeling in the world”

Montreal, 9 June – Ferrari does not announce agreements with drivers that often, but today the Maranello marque chose to do so in a special way, giving notice of two agreements. While the extension of the “technical-sporting collaboration,” the phrase traditionally used to describe a contract with a driver, between Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and Felipe Massa was not exactly a surprise, the story that probably generated more publicity was the news that the Ferrari Driver Academy has taken on a very young – he is not even twelve yet – Canadian driver, Lance Stroll.

“For me it’s a dream that’s become a reality, an incredible feeling, the best in the world in fact,” said Lance. “I am very excited at the idea of being part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. In the past few months, I was at Maranello, where I met Stefano Domenicali and Luca Baldisseri and also some of my new “fellow students.” This summer I will be going back to take part in some courses.”

Despite his lack of years, Lance seems to have a pretty clear head: “If you look at the recent past, so many champions, from Michael Schumacher to Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton to Fernando Alonso, started their professional career in karts at this age: if one wants to become a Formula 1 driver, this is the path to take. I started karting when I was five and this is my third season of real racing.”

Lance will spend his first weekend as part of Ferrari here at the “Gilles Villeneuve” circuit in Montreal, along with his father Lawrence, a regular front runner in the North American Ferrari Challenge Series races held in Montreal. “I have always been a Michael Schumacher fan, but now I support Felipe and Fernando and it would be nice if at least one of them made it to the podium on Sunday!”