Motorsport: F1 gun

Mitch Evans chats regularly to Mark Webber. Photo / Supplied

There were two of them on mountainbikes - one a 34-year-old F1 world champion in waiting; the other a 16-year-old world champion hopeful, whom many think could be New Zealand's next big thing in motor racing.

The 34-year-old is Australian Red Bull F1 driver Mark Webber, who has developed an unusual friendship and mentoring role with Mitch Evans, a student at Auckland's St Kentigern College.

In July, the pair were wheeling around Silverstone, where Webber was due to race. They used mountain bikes to scout the circuit, three days before the British Grand Prix, which the Red Bull driver would later win and make his famous "not bad for a number two driver" jibe.

The pair completed five laps of the 5km circuit on their bikes, as Webber analysed every curve, bump and twist in the newly configured circuit.

"There were other drivers biking around, from the lower levels (GP2 and GP3), and they were looking at me like, who is this kid? He's not doing it'. It was pretty crazy," Evans recalls.

Evans also journeyed by helicopter to the Goodwood Festival of speed, where he mixed and mingled with the A-list of motorsport alongside Webber as they were given the red carpet treatment.

"You realise when you get to that level, really good things come from it but Mark is so down to Earth," Evans says. "When you think about F1 drivers, you think they are maybe a bit arrogant but he is not at all. He takes his time to make sure you are alright. He always makes the effort to talk to people."

Evans and Webber are in touch regularly. By day, Evans is working through NCEA classes at Auckland's St Kentigern College. At night, he is exchanging text messages and emails with Webber. Evans first met Webber in March 2009, when he was introduced through a sponsor. There was an instant affinity. "It was a huge buzz for me," Evans recalls, "and with him being an Aussie it was quite a normal chat."

As they wandered around the Red Bull garage, talking of Evans' achievements, Webber asked about his goals for the future.

"I just gave him the answer I give to anyone who asks, - become a Formula One world champion," Evans says.

Webber, who has a background in Formula Ford, was an interested observer in Melbourne that weekend. Evans seized the moment. The then 14-year-old, racing for the first time in Australia, became the youngest ever to make the podium in an Australian Formula Ford round. Webber was impressed with the Kiwi prodigy who finished second in a field of 30.

"I was amazed at how switched on he was at the age of just 14," Webber said last year. The two kept in touch and, as the Auckland teenager continued to collect the chequered flags, Webber agreed to mentor the youngster.

The Australian sees Evans as a potential driver in his MW Arden GP3 team (two tiers below F1) but the teenager will need to keep producing on the track.

The two also seem to have developed a genuine friendship. Evans spent 10 days at Webber's sprawling country estate in Buckinghamshire in July, absorbing as much as he could about life at the top. The pair spent time running, mountainbiking and hanging out in the boys' room' where the Australian keeps his trophies, medals, various helmets and his X-box.

Mitch Evans' father Owen won the Wellington Street Race (formerly Nissan Mobil 500) in 1993 and he still holds the New Zealand land speed record, reaching 350km/h in his Porsche 911 in 1996. His fourth attempt that day almost ended in tragedy - a tyre blew out at 370km/h, sending the car catapulting horribly down the road. His injuries included a fractured skull, countless broken ribs, both lungs collapsed, both legs broken, smashed kneecaps and his left arm was almost torn off. Witnesses said the only parts of the car that were recognisable were the steering wheel and the gear stick.

Young Mitch had a dab at rugby league, emulating second cousin Stacey Jones at halfback and winning an Auckland junior player of the year award in 2003, but it was inevitable he would end up behind the wheel.

After regularly beating kids four or five years his senior in karting, he moved to single seaters at the age of 13 in 2007. He has since accumulated 29 wins and 61 podium finishes from 109 races in Formula 3, Formula Ford and Toyota Racing Series meets.

Evans came to national prominence this year when he overcame a quality field to become the youngest ever winner of the Toyota Racing Series, after finishing second in the Australian Formula Ford series in 2009.

He was recently named world Junior Driver of the Year by leading motorsport website driverdb.com, coming third in the overall award behind Jenson Button and Red Bull's other driver, Sebastian Vettel. Evans is currently second in the Formula 3 series across the ditch, with the penultimate round at Eastern Creek this weekend.

Chris Amon, who competed in almost 100 F1 races in the 1960s and 1970s, rates Evans highly. "He has got natural speed, he is very quick and seems to be very good under pressure. He certainly has maturity beyond his age in terms of race craft. He is very talented and could go all the way - it is a question of the right moves.

"You have to put in consistently outstanding performances in whatever you are racing. If you look at Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button, the one thing that stands out is that they have always shone in whatever formula they are in. Mitch is showing every sign of doing that."

Fellow New Zealand racing icon Greg Murphy is another Evans evangeliser. "From what I've seen, there is no reason why he can't be Australasia's next Formula One driver," says Murphy. "He is a thinker, you can see it. He can find the limits of a car very quickly and doesn't seem to get too flustered.

"But you have to put yourself in the right place at the right time, against the right competition. It is a brutal, brutal world and if you don't get that opportunity, nobody is going to take you on your word."

Earl Bamber, who duelled with Evans down to the wire in the Toyota Racing Series, admires the raw ability of his rival.

"He has a smooth driving style but it is aggressive," says Bamber. "He needs to learn when to use that aggression but he is only growing as a driver."

Back at St Kentigern, Evans admits school life can be a struggle. "The school and the students don't really get what it is about. Motorsport is a little bit different," he says.

After spending adrenalin-charged weekends in Australia, racing at speeds of 260km/h, it's sometimes hard returning to the diet of maths, physics, chemistry and geography.

"Rugby players here are treated like gods," he says. "Whereas some of my teachers think my racing is just a hobby."

Evans recounts a tale of one teacher who asked him: "Is this driving stuff going to take you anywhere in life? Is this serious?"

Evans is deadly serious.

"When you start out, you want to make it to the top whether it is realistic or not," Evans concedes. "A lot of kids will want it but won't work for it. I'm willing to go out of my way to work for it. I will make any sacrifice to make sure it happens."

He will head to Europe in 2011, targeting a place on a GP3 team. Webber will use his influences to open doors - Evans is apparently already on the radar of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner - while his father's motorsport connections and some committed financial backers will ensure the estimated annual cost of $1.3 million to secure a drive is met.

Then it is a matter of doing his apprenticeship in GP3 - and the next class, GP2 - to put himself in the best possible position for a shot at F1.

There have been many others who have loomed as potential world beaters but, as Brendon Hartley has found out recently, it's an incredibly competitive business and potential can get you only so far.

"Winning is the biggest thing that drives me, trying to reach the top of my sport," Evans says. "I drive every car to its limits and I think that is what separates the good drivers from average drivers - braking that much deeper to get that extra bit through the corner, getting on the throttle that little bit later.

"After all the time with Mark, you want to work even harder and give it your best shot. Every time you see a Formula One race, whether on TV or in real life, you know that is what you definitely want to do in the future."