ART Grand Prix is pleased to announce the signing of up and coming New Zealand driver, Marcus Armstrong, to defend their colours in the 2020 FIA F2 Championship season.
After several years in karting where he secured numbers of wins in domestic races, Marcus took it to the international level with a series of strong performances both in the USA and Europe.
The Christchurch born 19 yr. old started racing in single seaters when he was just 16, the same age he became a member of the prestigious Ferrari Driver Academy. The following season, he took his first championship title in the Italian F4 championship. For his first full season in Motorsport, his resume was nothing short of sensational: In 2017 he was Champion in F4 Italy, runner-up in F4 Germany and 4th of the Toyota Racing Series for a total of 10 wins and 32 podiums. In 2019, he finished runner up in both the FIA Formula 3 Championship and the Toyota Racing Series.
Marcus Armstrong :
“It’s an honour to join ART Grand Prix for many reasons. Mainly because of the team’s huge history. It’s been a driving force in GP2 and F2 over the last fifteen years and a lot of F1 drivers have come from the ranks of ART Grand Prix. Secondly, I met the team in Paris to meet everybody and my first impression was that everybody is really professional, they try to find small advantages everywhere… and there is a little pressure to be honest! I’m confident we can be successful together because the team wants to teach me all the right things and one of my strengths has always been to adapt to news situations. I will have to learn pit stops and race strategy, but I’m determined to do a good job straight away. We will be in Abu Dhabi for the three-day test session and after some nice preparation with simulators and computers I can’t wait to take to the wheel of the Formula 2 car with ART Grand Prix. I want to thank them, as well as the Ferrari Driver Academy and Ferrari management for giving me the best possibility to enter into Formula 2.”
Sébastien Philippe (ART Grand Prix President) :
“I’m genuinely delighted that Marcus and ART Grand Prix are joining forces as I wanted to get him onboard last year in Formula 3. Marcus’s profile fits perfectly with the philosophy of our company and race team and we are happy he is joining us in Formula 2 because I think that between his race approach and his adaptation skills, he will be able to fight for the front positions. Marcus only has three seasons in open wheeler under his belt and he already has some beautiful achievements in comparison to drivers of his generation, who have much more experience. The winter preparation will be crucial for the success of the ART/Marcus pairing, but I’m confident we can do great things together.”
