The inside scout – Callum Ilott

Callum Ilott is set to make his Formula 1 debut on a Grand Prix weekend, when he takes to the cockpit of the HAAS Vf-20 for Free Practice 1 at the Nürburgring.

Ahead of his debut, we get to know the UNI-Virtuosi racer a little better.

NAME: Callum Ilott DATE OF BIRTH: 11/11/1998 NATIONALITY: British

RACING STYLE

“Fast. On the car side I am aggressive, on the racing side I am normally quite fair.

“I do push to the limit, but the limit is the limit and I never try to go beyond it on the racing side. I don't like the unfairness of which sometimes people race. It doesn’t mean that I always get it right, but I do like to play fair most of the time. Overall, fast and aggressive, and then you try and harness it back to be a bit smoother.”

FIRST RACING MEMORY

“First proper racing memory: I was fighting for second last place with a driver who became a really good friend of mine for the first six years of my racing career, Luke Knott. My dad and his dad are good friends still.

“My first experience of a racetrack was 2008 at Silverstone. That was with Harry Newey and he snuck a pass through the fence so that I could get in! It was amazing, you could hear the cars from around five Kilometres away.”

BIGGEST RACING ACHIEVEMENT

“I have had a few successes in races, never in overall Championships. I won a lot back in karting, which I am still proud of, but that doesn’t mean much to a lot of people here.

“One of the first things was when I joined the Red Bull Junior Team and then the Ferrari Driver Academy, those were proud moments. I think the win at Silverstone this year was something special too, winning at my home race and not putting a foot wrong. That was good, so a combination of all of those.”

RACING HERO

“When I was karting, Lewis was the one who went into Formula 1 and was straight on the pace and winning a first World Championship. Ayrton Senna as well, who for a number of reasons, resonates a lot with a lot of drivers. Both those guys for their own reasons, resonate well with me.”

FAVOURITE TRACK ON THE F2 CALENDAR

“I do like Silverstone, and I like Abu Dhabi too, although we won’t be racing there this year. I actually quite like Baku as well. It is a mixture of everything and a lot easier to overtake on than Monaco, as a street track.”