Louis Sharp is one of New Zealand motorsport’s young guns with sights firmly set on Formula One.
After rising through the ranks on the New Zealand motorsport ladder, from karting, including multiple national titles, to Formula First to Formula Ford, the talented teenager from Christchurch, secured an opportunity to race in the 2022 ROKiT F4 British Championship.
Sharp missed the first three races of the championship due to an age restriction, but after turning 15, he quickly demonstrated his potential, scoring two stunning wins—at Oulton Park and Silverstone—along with ten additional podium finishes on his way to an impressive fourth place in the season standings.
Encouraged by his performances in the UK, Louis then ended his year of racing in style, winning the pair of UAE F4 Trophy races on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix support races, further underscoring his potential in front of the F1 audience.
THE JOURNEY
Louis’s motorsport career began, like many others, with a trip to the local kart track, followed by a test drive. From that moment on, there was no doubt about what the future would hold.
“I don’t come from a motorsport family, so I got into racing almost by accident. I was driving past the local go-kart track one day and my Dad and I thought we would stop and have a look. One of the club members said to us “if you come back next weekend, we will have a kart ready for you to have a go in.” So, I did come back the next weekend, and ever since then, I have just fallen in love with the sport.”
2022
Louis moved to Britain in 2022, seizing an opportunity to compete in the ROKiT F4 British Championship, and faced the daunting prospect of learning a new car, new circuits and working with a new team.
“Moving to the other side of the world was definitely a big adjustment, but it was something that had to be done in order to achieve my dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver. Luckily though I do have family over in the UK so I felt pretty comfortable living there straight away.”
“It was also a huge adjustment adapting to a new team and learning the new tracks, but Carlin was able to make me feel comfortable and get me up to speed quickly. Saying that the most challenging thing was probably learning the new tracks and car because it was so different from what I was racing in the past.”
Being a racing driver can at times be a solitary experience, let alone racing in a foreign environment, it’s important for a driver to have a support team to turn to for assistance and guidance.
“Luckily, I have my Dad with me over there the whole time, so he drives me to the different race tracks, makes me food, and would also help me with warm up before a race. So having him there with me at every race meeting definitely helped.”
PREPARING TO WIN
Preparation is a key component to success on the track, however, it’s not only the cars that need to be prepared for a race meeting, the driver must also do his homework.
“Before every race weekend, I’ll come into the team factory and I’ll spend the day with my engineer driving that track on the sim, and analysing data and video so that when Friday practice comes along, we are already comfortable with the track layout.”
“5-6 days a week I’ll be in the gym or doing some kind of physical activity to help me be as fit as possible. Before every race weekend I’ll set myself a goal and my mindset is to focus on that and try to achieve it.”
“In saying that, motorsport can be tough and luck isn’t always on your side, but the important thing is not to worry too much about the stuff that is out of your control and just to focus on doing the best you possibly can.”
Although Louis is young in years, he has a wealth of motorsport experience that has seen him rise through the ranks, and has some advice for those just starting out in motorsport.
“The best advice I would give to young karters would be to dream big and work hard to make your dream come true. Have fun and enjoy the journey because motorsport is all about having fun.”
LOUIS SHARP
2023
After spending some time back in New Zealand over the summer break, Louis will be heading back to Britain to compete in the 2023 ROKiT F4 British Championship, with one goal in mind.
“I had good success last season in British F4 with Carlin, so I will be returning to the team for the upcoming season.”
“In preparation for the season, I am keeping up my gym training, but I am also getting into pre-season testing shortly.”
“The most important thing is to improve on the success we had last year, and I’m eligible to race in the whole championship this year, so that will definitely help me achieve my goal of winning the championship.”
Motorsport is very much a team sport; there are many people working behind the scenes to put a driver on the grid.
“I would like to give a big thank you to David Dicker, the owner of Rodin cars. If it wasn’t for him, I would not be able to be in Europe racing so I have to give a big thanks to him.”
“Also, a big thanks to my team Carlin for everything they have done for me this season.”
Finally, for our readers who would like to follow Louis’s progress, they can find him on social media.
“You can find me on social media. I post on both my Instagram and my Facebook pages to keep my fans updated along the way.”
Instagram: Louis Sharp
Facebook: Louis Sharp Motorsport
With the recent announcement of a merger between Rodin Cars and Carlin, Louis Sharp has put himself in a great position to fulfill his dream of a place on the Formula One grid.
In Louis’s own words “dream big and work hard to make your dream come true”, never a truer word was spoken.
Images thanks to MPA Creative
