Mercedes signs first female junior to F1 academy for 2022

Luna Fluxa is Mercedes’ newest signing and the Germa♉n manufacturer’s first female driver to join the programme.
The Sp♍anish racer will compete in the OK꧟ Junior karting class for 2022.
Fr🔯ederik Vesti remains in the programme afte🍌r two seasons in Formula 3.
The🍸 Dane will make the step up to Formula 2 with A💝RT Grand Prix.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli makes the move up to single-seaters with Prema in Italian F4 after joining Mercedes in 2019, w🔯hile Paul Aron retains his spot and remains in Formula Regional European Championship for another year.
Yuanpu Cui was signed by Mercedes last year and will continue to race in karting for 2022, as will Alex Powell, who is𓃲 set to move up to OK full-time th൲is year.
🍨Britain’s Daniel Guinchard completes the roster and he will also make the step up to single-seaters with Argenti inꦍ the British F4 series.
"It's going to be a really exc🎶iting year for our junior drivers, and we're🐬 delighted to welcome them to our W13 launch on Friday as part of our motorsport family," CEO Toto Wolff said.
"There are some familiar faces in the programme from previous years, looking to build on their strong progress, and there are also several new members of the programme who have joined us this year. It wil♐l be 🍌great to see how they develop in their first season with us."
2022 is a landmark year for the Mercedes junior programme as George Russell - who had been it in since 2017 - makes the move up to the F1 team alongside🐓 Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes strategy director James Vowels added: "George joining alongside Lewis marks a significant milestone fo𓃲r our young driver programme. Every year, the programme has grown, and we are fortunate to have an iܫncredible line-up across categories ranging from karting to F1.
"We'll be working hard to provide the best support and environment we can, enabling them to foc🔯us on the job in hand and deliver their maximum potential. The Mꦯercedes young drivers of today, will hopefully be our champions of tomorrow."

With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and ღstorylines, Connor is the 🍃heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.