Britain’s answer to Kimi Antonelli is eyeing his own F1 promotion | F1 | Sport

As Kimi Antonelli dominates the Formula 1 world as a teenager, there’s a fellow 19-year-old coming up through the ranks who thinks he has what it takes to make the same sort of impact. He’s already outpaced Oliver Bearman in testing conditions and is confident that he’s good enough to race at the very pinnacle of the sport.

Louis Sharp races in Formula 3. This is his second season at that level and the first was not particularly eye-catching from a results perspective. Driving for Rodin Motorsport, a fourth place in the Sprint race at Imola was the only time he finished above ninth all year. But he has switched to Prema Racing for his sophomore campaign in F3 and his debut-year difficulties have certainly not damaged his self-confidence.

“If [Kimi Antonelli] does it, I think I can as well,” he told sports PR agency Press Box PR. “He was always one year ahead of me. I’ve never raced directly against him, but I’ve raced against a lot of people who have raced against him as well.

“I’ve been up against a couple guys, I’ve been up against Arvid Lindblad, I’ve been up against Bearman, not necessarily in championships but in testing and other stuff. I did a test with Bearman maybe a year and a half ago, just after he got his debut in the Ferrari. I was quicker than him at the time.”

“So, I think I definitely know I’ve got what it takes, I definitely know I’m good enough. Obviously things need to align, I need to get a few opportunities to make that happen, but I definitely know that I’ve got what it takes and if I keep working hard, keep my head down and get the results, I think there’s no reason why I can’t make it.”

Sharp was born in Nottinghamshire but moved as a young child to New Zealand, where he grew up and attended school. He returned to the UK to follow his racing dreams and has largely competed in the Britain junior ranks, winning the British F4 and GB3 titles in back-to-back seasons – the first driver to do that since Ayrton Senna.

Now on the FIA junior ladder, talent is not the only requirement of drivers at this level. They must also bring serious financial backing as Sharp says “the going rate” for a season in F3 is over £1million. For a top seat, you can expect to pay double that. And the price only rises for Formula 2.

It is a hurdle Sharp must negotiate as one of the only racers in F3 who is funding his racing without being able to fall back on family money. He said: “The team doesn’t pay for anything. As the driver you have to bring all that money yourself. Pretty much everyone else on the F3 grid is funding it through family money, family wealth, with maybe a few sponsors.

“I am the only driver on the grid I think who’s fully funded through sponsorship and fundraising, which makes it very difficult. But it’s all part of it. I raise the money through sponsorship, through investors, in any way I can. As a family we can’t really put anything into it. So all the money’s raised through other people helping out.

“The goal for me this year is to demonstrate I’ve got what it takes. I want to be fighting for race wins, so fighting for pole positions, for podiums and doing standout things. The actual championship position, obviously I want to be up the front, maybe top three, top five; but I think the most important thing is to showcase the talent that I’ve got to secure an F2 seat for next year.”