This weekend marks two years since Austria’s only single-seater junior driver program was unveiled to the public.
After a year and a half of preparation, founding partners HM Sports and Renauer Motorsport presented the Formelaustria Race Academy at Lugner City in Vienna in June 2024. Among the guests were Academy ambassador and 1992 F1 runner-up Riccardo Patrese, as well as Simon Schranz and Alexander Scheiblecker as the first drivers.
Since then, not only have two racing seasons passed, but the Academy has also established itself internationally as a junior driver program. Patrese has since been joined by former McLaren and Williams F1 team principal Jost Capito, as well as Vitantonio Liuzzi, an F1 driver for Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso, Force India, and HRT. Media training for the drivers is handled by former F1 press officer Alexandra Schieren.
Simon Schranz secured the F4 title in the Carbonia Cup in 2024 and two podium finishes in the F4 Central European Zone in 2025. The young Tyrolean was the first graduate of the Formelaustria Race Academy and is now successfully competing in the Ligier European Series, on his way to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Canadian Hady Mimassi shone in his debut season in 2025 with three podium finishes and narrowly missed out on the first FIA victory for an Academy driver at the Slovakiaring, finishing second after leading for much of the race. Mimassi’s compatriot Nicola Havrda prepared for her F1 Academy appearances with Academy partner Renauer Motorsport and made the jump to the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge this season.
To date, over 20 drivers have completed training courses through the Formelaustria Race Academy. Luis Moser was the fourth Austrian to join the Academy and, after a first learning year, is now competing successfully in the ADAC GT4 Germany series. With the addition of Lithuanian Tomas Rudokas and Swiss Andreas Lo Bue to the Formula 4 CEZ campaign in 2026, two more nationalities have joined the Academy.
The Formelustria Race Academy achieved a unique marketing coup producing the feature film RACE ACADEMY – A True Motorsport Story, the world’s first movie about Formula 4 racing. Following its premiere in February of this year, RACE ACADEMY has already been broadcast on all major Austrian and several German television channels. From summer 2026, it will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in English.
Accordingly, Academy Director Harry Miltner is pleased with the progress saying: “I think we’ve done our homework well. Our collaboration with Renauer Motorsport couldn’t be better, and as a result, we’ve already managed to make a significant impact on young talent.”
For more information about the Formelaustria Race Academy
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