A Chinese karting hopeful joins the Mercedes program
Aged just 13, young Chinese driver Yuanpu Cui joined the Mercedes Young Drivers Academy this Tuesday.
He caught the eye of the Star brand. This Tuesday, the German team announced that the young Chinese karting star, Yuanpu Cui, has joined the Mercedes young driver programme.
Karting driver since the age of 6, the Chinese racer continues to impress in his country. Last year, Cui finished second in the OK Junior category of the 31st Andrea Margutti Trophy. He has also managed on numerous occasions to step onto the podium and win races in the WSK Champions Cup, WSK Super Masters Series, and Florida Winter Tour.
This year, he will continue to race in the OK Junior category with Kart Republic in various series.
Now under the wing of Mercedes, he joins two other karting drivers: Andrea Kimi Antonelli and the Jamaican-Floridian Alex Powell.
In the press release from the German team, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team’s Driver Development Advisor, Gwen Largue, stated: “We are really excited to welcome Yuanpu Cui to the Mercedes family as a new recruit in our young driver program.”
« We are proud to help young drivers from a wide range of countries and backgrounds climb the ranks of motorsport. Yuanpu has caught our attention and shown great promise in his karting career so far.
It is the best karting talent in China and there has not yet been a Chinese F1 driver. So we are looking forward to seeing how Yuanpu will progress and helping him climb the ranks of racing.
