Lotus has launched the new Formula 1 Junior Team and has selected the first seven drivers who will debut on the famous British single-seat autos in 2013. Among them are Dorian Boccolacci, the young French driver who has been reaping success in karting and who today races in KF with Energy Corse, and Alexander Albon, former driver of the Intrepid Driver Program who already last year moved up to autos in Formula Renault.

The new Lotus F1 Junior Team has been created on the basis of the driver development experience of the British manufacturer’s i-Race Professional Young Driver Academy, with a double objective: that of building on this experience “to be more closely aligned with the Formula One team,” as explains team principal Eric Boullier, but also that of  “offering an in-depth and highly-beneficial training regime which should encourage these drivers to develop and perform at their very best” for their future careers in motorsports. In a global perspective of driver development, Boccolacci, Albon and the other young drivers of the F1 Junior Team will thus face a program that will cover driving skills, but also physical fitness (including nutrition and emotional wellness), psychological and relational training, as well as courses in public relations, business ethics and business fundamentals. As far as the racing program for 2013, instead, the new F1 Junior drivers will take part in several important Formula series, including the Formula Renault 3.5 World Championship and the Formula Renault 2.0 Euro Cup, as well as several karting events in the KF category.

In the photo, Dorian Boccolacci sporting the new Lotus colours

Photo © Lotus F1 Team