Moving to Europe and surrounding himself with ‘awesome people’: the moments that made Marcus Armstrong

Since moving to Europe as a 13-year-old to pursue a career in motorsport, Marcus Armstrong has enjoyed a whole host of experiences, but which were key to his development?

We spoke with the Hitech Grand Prix driver, who picked out the three moments that made him.

GROWING UP WITH AWESOME PEOPLE

“Ever since I was young, I’ve always been surrounded by awesome people: I’ve always had cool friends, the best karting coaches and experienced people around me. I was also always around people who were older than me as well, so I managed to grow up probably a little bit quicker than others, just because I was constantly racing, and I was the 'young kid.'

“I was lucky that the personalities were really cool. I still keep in touch with everyone that I was with because even though it’s New Zealand and very far away, they offer a different perspective, and I maybe wouldn't see from my European peers.”

MOVING TO EUROPE

“When I first came to European karting, it was really special because I had to live on my own and fend for myself from the age of 13, so I learned to be very independent. I think naturally, from a young age, I have always been an independent person, but I was essentially thrown into the deep end. Racing every weekend and living alone was a valuable life lesson.”

HAVING STRONG TEAMMATES

“Throughout my career, from F4 to F3 and F2, I’ve always had very good teammates and that’s something that I appreciate because I was always competing against the very best.

“In European F3 with PREMA, I was a part of a five-car team with Ralf Aron, Guanyu Zhou, Robert Shwarztman and Mick Schumacher and we all pushed each other and learned from each other in what was a very competitive environment.

“I think all three of the ‘moments that have made me’ have been dependant on the fantastic personalities that I’ve been exposed to over the past couple of years. But certainly, on a competitive side of things, it has been good to have really fast teammates and it has helped me a lot.”