Motorsport: Ferrari's young star in town

Raffaele Marciello. Photo / Supplied

If the most successful racing team in the history of Formula One sees fit to send their most promising future F1 prospect to race in New Zealand, the Toyota Racing Series must be doing something right.

Italian Raffaele Marciello is being groomed by motorsport giants Ferrari for a future in Formula One and is part of their elite driver academy (FDA). He is one of 15 international drivers from 12 countries taking part in the five back-to-back TRS race weekends and will feature at the fourth instalment this weekend at Hampton Downs.

Marciello started in karting at a young age and quickly enjoyed success. He won several titles before stepping up to KF3 in 2007 and his abilities were soon noticed by Ferrari, who snapped up the Swiss-born Italian in 2008.

He hasn't enjoyed the best results in New Zealand, and sits 11th on the table with six races to go, including the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild on February 11-12.

He came here with some pedigree and serious heavyweight backing and initially looked to win the championship but shifted his goals after the first round at Teretonga, raced in atrocious conditions, when he recorded two DNFs and a fifth.

"Now it is too difficult for the championship win as I was unlucky in the first two races. Now I am here to learn and to win races," he said.

"Coming here [to New Zealand] is good training for my racing this year. Back in Europe, I can run and train but no racing, so now I'm getting to drive in a competitive way."

Over the past two years, Marciello has steadily moved up from Formula Abarth, where he finished third. He also finished third in the Italian Formula Three championship, picking up two wins along the way.

"I like the TRS car, it is similar to the Formula Abarth car and almost like a Formula Three car. With this car I want to learn how to race more and this series is good because you have many races in a short period of time."

The FDA's aim is to develop young drivers and is led by Luca Baldisserri who was an engineer during the Prancing Horse's dominant years in the early 2000s. Their training includes studying English, mental training, coaching sessions to reinforce team spirit, fitness training, simulator and track testing.

"Maybe at the Ferrari Academy I can prove I'm good enough to become a Formula One driver," Marciello said. "Now I'm in the same team as Fernando Alonso and I can speak with the chief engineer and others in the Formula One team. It's fantastic. I hope that I can get to drive a Formula One car on a test."