Formula 1 news: McLaren see their next Lewis Hamilton in 13-year-old Afro-American prodigy

McLaren, who is known to have a knack for investing in rising talents, has invested in yet another prodigy. The team has signed a deal with a 13-year-old Afro-American karting champion. In the past, McLaren had signed seven-time Driver's Champion Lewis Hamilton at the same age.

Formula 1 news: McLaren F1 invests in Afro-American prodigy

The latest Formula 1 news is that the McLaren F1 team have invested in Ugo Ugochukwu. Ugochukwu is known for his victories in the 2020 FIA OKJ European Championship and his various national and international karting accolades in the USA and in Europe. Because of such achievements, McLaren have described him as a 'revelation.'

The McLaren F1 team, who have a history of picking rising stars, will hope that Ugo Ugochukwu is the latest addition to their previous star recruitments. The Woking team has previously signed Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen, Stoffel Vandoorne and Lando Norris as part of their young driver programme. While speaking of Ugo Ugochukwu's signing, team principal Andreas Seidl also explained McLaren's intentions to continue identifying rising young talents.

Seidl said, "This signing reflects our refocused approach to identifying and supporting new talent, away from a formal young driver programme to a more tailored basis. Ugo is a promising young talent with strong development prospects. While he is still early in his career, it is clear he has the ingredients to be successful in the sport."

Meanwhile, McLaren CEO Zak Brawn highlighted how long the team had been tracking Ugochukwu's progress prior to signing the rising star. "We’ve been watching Ugo’s progress with interest, so when the opportunity to sign an agreement with him became available, we had no hesitation moving on it. Now we’ll focus on giving Ugo the right support when he needs it to help him fulfil his potential," said Brown.

Formula 1 schedule: Bahrain Grand Prix time

While McLaren F1 will continue to scout for new young talents, they will now have to shift focus to the Formula 1 season which begins this weekend. The first race is the Bahrain Grand Prix from March 26-28 with the race set to begin on Sunday, March 28 at 8:30 PM IST. The next races as per the Formula 1 schedule are the Italian (16-18 April) and the Portuguese Grand Prixs (30 April-2 May) respectively.

Bahrain Grand Prix live stream

In India, the Bahrain Grand Prix will be shown live on the Star Sports Network. The Bahrain Grand Prix live stream is available on Disney+ Hotstar VIP. Live standings and updates of the race can be found on the social media of F1 and the respected teams.