Only 22 drivers have the honor of racing in Formula One, considered by many to be the pinnacle of motorsports.  For many of those 22 drivers, their journey to F1 started when they were just a few years old and tossed by a parent into some kind of go-kart.  For Park City F1 hopeful and Frenc h F4 driver Maverick McKenna, the journey could not look any more different.  “I think all I played was soccer,” Maverick said of his experience in organized sports growing up. While Maverick was not super interested in any organized sports, he was an F1 fan. It’s in his DNA, so to speak: His maternal grandfather was a racecar test driver for Mercedes in the 1950s, and his mom, Joana McKenna, and maternal grandmother would watch races with him when he was a kid.  “It’s definitely something that’s ingrained in our family,” Joana said. “I grew up in Paris, so we spent a lot of time in the south of France. We would go to Formula One races with my father. … My mom came to stay with us and stayed for several years. She also is a massive Formula One fan, and (Maverick) he would always sit with her in her little cottage and watch the Formula One races.” Joana saw Maverick’s interest in watching F1 translate into dominating his birthday party go-kart races.  “Maverick was faster than the adults,” Joana said. “He was passing people and doing things that kind of came naturally to him. I kind of thought that he would be good at driving or karting, but he hadn’t decided yet that he wanted to do karting.” Maverick McKenna didn’t start karting until he was 14 years old and is now set on becoming the next American F1 driver at 16 years old. Credit: Photo courtesy of Connor Botha Visuals Joana and her husband and Maverick’s father, Stephen, didn’t push their son into karting. They let him find his way to the sport on his own time. In 2024, when Maverick was 14 years old, he told his parents he wanted to try karting.  Maverick started karting at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Grantsville, where he didn’t encounter any metaphorical speedbumps in his transition from birthday party races to competition.  “I quickly started winning,” Maverick said. “We moved into the national scene and basically just kept moving up categories. Kept moving up, up, up and challenging myself, just trying to grow as fast as possible.” Joana said Maverick rose another rank of the U.S. karting system every three months over the last couple of years. She believes having to frequently adjust to a new level of racing made him adaptable, which helped him progress consistently.  Last fall, Maverick was invited by French F4, one of the premier F4 series across the world and a feeder into F1, to make his open-wheel (non-covered), single-seat car debut in their season finale. He finished in 10th place despite never having driven a formula car before, all but cementing that he should become a French F4 driver the next season. Maverick spent October, November, December, February and March doing testing for the 2026 season. The first stop of the French F4 season was in Nogaro, France, in early March, when Maverick’s best finish was 12th place in three races. The second stop was in Dijon, France, in mid-May, and the third at the famous Spa-Francorchamps race track in Stavelot, Belgium. His best finish was a third place finish at Spa.  “To be honest, the season’s been quite a struggle,” Maverick said. “There’s a lot of things outside of our control, mechanically (broken parts, tire issues and leaks into the fuel tank) and the track.” The podium finish at Spa appears to be a turning point for Maverick. At the next French F4 stop July 31-Aug. 2 in Magny-Cours, France, he claimed his first win of the season in race two of three. Maverick crossed the finish line less than two tenths of a second ahead of the second-place driver from France.  “We definitely put it all together and won,” Maverick said. “So that’s good.” The muted celebration is on par for the 16 year old who seems mature beyond his years. Joana, who travels Europe alongside Maverick, said his commitment to the sport has meant waking up at 5 a.m. most days to have breakfast and start the day, being in the gym two-to-three times a day and, most recently, arranging a pitch deck to present to potential financiers of his career.  While Joana and Stephen support Maverick as much as possible financially and otherwise, taking the next step up in his career into Formula Regional (FREC) racing would require what Joana estimates to be around $1.7 million for next season alone.  Maverick McKenna will likely race in Formula Regional next year if he can secure about $1.7 million dollars in funding. Credit: Photo courtesy of Connor Botha Visuals “He’s meeting with investors and brands for sponsorship,” Joana said. “He’s out there trying to raise capital to invest in his racing career. I think that’s an enormous ask for a 16 year old to take on those responsibilities, but I think that’s the differentiator between this sport and every other sport.” Maverick’s manager, Guillaume Le Goff, also manages two F1 drivers: Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Red Bull Racing’s Isack Hadjar. Maverick said Le Goff has told him he sees him becoming the next American driver in F1 in the coming years.  With formula races largely being held in Europe, European drivers have dominated F1. The 2026 season is F1’s 77th, and only 58 Americans have ever raced, the most recent being Williams’ former driver, Logan Sargent, in 2024.  “If you talk to his management team, they would tell you that Maverick is probably one of the most exciting drivers they have signed in recent years because of his trajectory,” Joana said. “(His peers) have had development and karting years before that, and he’s competing at the same level or faster than them in such a short period of time. They think, with the right investment, which leads to development, testing days and time in the car, he has every probability to get to F1.” Whether Maverick ends up making it to F1 or races in another professional series like Formula E, Joana believes the journey will have been worth it for her family. Joana, Stephen and Maverick’s two older sisters sat down before deciding to embark on this journey and all agreed to support Maverick’s dreams.  “(Maverick’s oldest sister) said, ‘Well, wait a minute. Why can’t I even start driving? Throw me into formula,’” Joana said. “But they were all supportive. … If he was just a regular, 16-year-old kid at home, doing sports or otherwise, we would not have had all of this quality time traveling together.” Joana estimates she and Maverick will have spent months of this year in Europe by the end of the French F4 season in October. For her financial and time investment in Maverick, Joana said Maverick has agreed to let her and Stephen live down the block from him if he makes it to F1, where drivers can make tens of millions of dollars.  “For us, I think the repayment is just their success and happiness, whether it’s Maverick or his sisters,” Joana said. “If we didn’t have kids, we would have retired long ago and been sitting on a beach somewhere. … We work so we can help fund their dreams, support them and give them memories.” To continue to follow Maverick’s journey, see his website: maverickmckenna.com. Racing is a family affair for the McKennas, with Maverick McKenna’s mom Joana McKenna joining him on the road. Credit: Photo courtesy of Connor Botha Visuals The post Park City teenager set on becoming next American F1 appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less