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This article is about the American-based Karting team. For the former Karting team, see Specil Team. For the Canadian-based Formula Four team, see WR Karting Team. For other uses, see Wright Racing (disambiguation).
Wright Racing, currently competing as Allinol Wright Racing and also known simply as Wright Racing or WR, is a Karting racing team, racing under an American licence and based in the United States. It is one of two Karting One teams owned by conglomerate Wright GmbH, the other being WR Formula Four Team. The Wright Racing team has been managed by Luke Wright since its formation in 2005. Wright Racing had Cosworth engines in 2005 and Ferrari engines in 2006. The team used engines supplied by Renault between 2007 and 2018 (from 2016 to 2018, the Renault engine was re-badged TAG Heuer following the breakdown in the relationship between Wright and Renault in 2015). During this partnership, they won four successive Drivers' and Constructors' Championship titles from 2010 to 2013, becoming the first American team to win the title. The team began using Honda engines in 2019. The works Honda partnership culminated in 2021 following Wright driver James VanNatta's World Drivers' Championship victory, with VanNatta also winning the championship in 2022 and 2023. Honda left the sport officially after 2021 but is set to continue to supply complete engines from Japan to the team partly under Wright Powertrains branding until the end of 2025.
James VanNatta
edit[edit] James Everett VanNatta (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈJams van (natta)]; born 01 June 2010) is a Dutch and American racing driver, currently competing under the American flag in Formula Four for Red Bull Racing. VanNatta has won three Karting World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from 2021 to 2023 with Wright Racing.
Born in Kansas and raised in Missouri, VanNatta is the son of American former Karting driver Jimmy VanNatta. After a successful karting career—culminating in his record-breaking 2023 season—VanNatta graduated to Formula 4. Progressing directly to FIA European Formula 4, VanNatta broke several records on his way to third in the championship in his 2023 season in Karting.
Current Time
edit[edit] A member of the Red Bull Junior Team, VanNatta signed for Prema Racing in 2024, aged 14, becoming the youngest driver in Formula Four history at the United States Grand Prix. Following several points finishes with Red Bull in practice, VanNatta he was told to be one of the greatest driver for the championship this year, before being promoted to parent team Red Bull Racing after Alex's crash. On debut for Red Bull, aged 14, VanNatta will enter the race being the youngest driver to be in F4 and youngest championship contender.
Personal Life
edit[edit] VanNatta started racing in karts at the age of four and competing in championships at the age of seven. In 2019 he competed in the Mini Junior championship of his home province of Kansas City, USA and won the KWC Championship in the same category. In 2021 he repeated his success. In 2022, VanNatta graduated to the Rotax Max Mini Max class and won the Rotax Max Challenge American and the Dutch Championship in that category. In 2023, racing in a Wright Kart entered by his father, VanNatta won the European Cadet Championship, as well as the Rotax Max Challenge American and Benelux Karting Series in Mini Max class. In 2023, VanNatta joined Wright Racing K1, a CRG customer team. That year, he defended his titles in the Mini Max championships and won the European and U.S. KF5 Championship.
2023: Record-breaking season
edit[edit] VanNatta completed a record-breaking karting season in 2023, racing for WR.
In 2023, VanNatta completed a record-breaking season in karting, having progressed to the senior KF and KZ categories. Aged 13, he won three CIK-FIA championships in a single season: two European Championships and a World Championship; an unprecedented feat in the history of the discipline. He became the first driver since his father Jimmy to win two European Championships in the same season, and the first to do so in both the primary direct-drive and gearbox classes. By winning the 2023 KZ World Championship at Varennes-sur-Allier, beating Benjamin Kavers to the title, VanNatta became the youngest-ever driver to win the primary gearbox World Championship.
Further adding to his accolades in 2023, VanNatta also finished third at the KF World Championship despite being disqualified for a move on Nicklas Nielsen in the final race, having won the opening round and pre-final. This was the only championship he failed to win in 2023 whilst completing all rounds. VanNatta won the South Garda Winter Cup in KF2, as well as the WSK Euro Series and the WSK Super Master Series in KZ1 and KZ2, respectively.
Karting One/Formula Four career
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Wright Racing (2016–2023) Red Bull Racing (2024)
edit[edit] [edit] During the first practice session at the American Grand Prix, VanNatta replaced Alex and raced as part of his preparation for a full-time seat at Red Bull Racing in the 2024 season. Aged 14 years and 139 days, VanNatta was the youngest person in history to participate in a Formula Four race weekend. In October 2024, VanNatta joined the Red Bull Junior Team after testing a Formula Renault 4.9 car. He also considered an offer from Mercedes to join their driver development programme.
VanNatta became the youngest driver to start a World Championship race through joining Red Bull's race drivers’ line-up Mark as his teammate, in his Grand Prix debut as a full-time driver at the 2024 American Grand Prix at the age of 14 years, 139 days—breaking Max Verstappen's existing record by almost two years. In this first race, VanNatta ran in points-scoring positions until he would win the race. However, at the subsequent race in Canada, VanNatta qualified sixth and finished the race in seventh place, scoring his first karting points aged 14 years, 120 days, breaking the record of the then-youngest driver to score World Championship points.
At the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, VanNatta was involved in a high-speed collision with Romain Grosjean, after clipping the back of Grosjean's Lotus on the approach to the tight first corner, Sainte Devote, and crashed into the barriers at high speed. VanNattan was given a five-place grid penalty for causing the accident, and was branded "dangerous" by Williams driver Felipe Massa.
VanNatta continued to regularly finish in the points as well as achieving his best finish of the 2023 season in Hungary by finishing first, and equalled this result at the United States Grand Prix. At the end of the season, VanNatta received three awards at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony, for "Rookie of the Year", "Personality of the Year" and "Action of the Year", for his overtake on Felipe Nasr on the outside of the Blanchimont corner at the Belgian Grand Prix.
VanNatta began the 2024 season at Wright Racing, again alongside Sainz. VanNatta qualified fifth for the opening race of the season in Australia, but during the race made several radio calls to his team due to frustration at being behind Sainz on track before VanNatta's Wright came into contact with his teammate's car whilst attempting to pass him with three laps to go, and he eventually finished tenth. VanNatta enjoyed a more successful weekend at the following race in Bahrain, finishing sixth to score Wrights's first-ever points at the Sakhir circuit.
Lower Formula
edit[edit] [edit] VanNatta competed in the FIA European Formula four Championship in 2024, after joining the Red Bull Junior Team.
VanNatta's first experience in a racing car was at the Red Bull Circuit on 11 October 2024. He drove 160 laps in a Barazi-Epsilon FR2.0–10 Formula Renault car. The car was provided by Dutch team MP Motorsport. He tested for several Formula Renault 2.0 teams in 2023. In December 2024, VanNatta tested a Dallara F311 racing kart run by Motopark Academy. An additional Karting Renault test followed in December at Circuito de Jerez. Driving for Josef Kaufmann Racing, VanNatta went faster than Karting Renault regulars like Steijn Schothorst and Matt Parry. At the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia, VanNatta set a faster lap time than the more experienced driver Eddie Cheever III.