Louis Sharp

Louis Sharp
Sharp at the Hungaroring in 2024
Nationality	New Zealand
Born	(2007-05-11) 11 May 2007 (age 17) [1] Nottingham, United Kingdom
GB3 Championship career
Debut season	2024
Current team	Rodin Motorsport
Starts	11 (12 entries)
Wins	2
Podiums	5
Poles	2
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	1st in 2024

Louis Sharp (born 11 May 2007) is a racing driver from New Zealand who is set to compete in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Rodin Motorsport. He is the winner of the 2024 GB3 Championship for the same team and the 2023 F4 British Championship for Rodin Carlin. ^[1]

Personal life

Sharp was born in the Nottingham, United Kingdom, living in Newark for his first few early years ^[2] but spent most of his childhood in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he attended St Bede's College. ^[3] He later moved back to the UK to compete in the F4 British Championship. ^{[3] [4]}

Career

Karting

After happening across a local karting track, Sharp's interest was piqued ^[5] and he started karting at age six ^[6] in 2014, driving in the Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship. He finished 18th in the Cadet class, the next year he finished third in the same class, and two years later he won the championship in the same class, along with the Sievwright Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship, in the Cadet class. ^[1] In 2018, he finished as runner up in the Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship in the Mini ROK class and the following year he won the championship. ^{[7] [8]}

These results caught the attention of David Dicker, founder of the New Zealand based racing car manufacturer Rodin Cars. Dicker, through Rodin, continue to back Sharp through his formula racing career. ^[1]

Lower formulae

2020

Sharp stepped up into single-seater racing in 2020, making his debut in the Formula First Manfeild Winter Series. He won one race and achieved six podiums, finishing the championship in fifth with 375 points. ^[9] He also completed in the New Zealand Formula First Championship for Track Tec Racing, finishing the championship in fifth and ending his campaign with one podium. ^{[10] [11]}

2021

The following year, Sharp drove in the Yokohama South Island Formula Ford Series, getting five wins, ten podiums and two pole positions. finishing fifth in the championship. Sharp was leading the championship before being called up by Carlin to compete in British F4. ^{[12] [13]}

Formula 4

2022

Sharp made another step up to the 2022 F4 British Championship with Carlin, partnering McLaren Junior Driver Ugo Ugochukwu and Williams Junior Driver Oliver Gray. ^[12] Sharp did not participate in the first round of the season at Donington Park due to still being 14 years old, ^[14] with the age limit of most Formula 4 series being set at 15. ^[15] In his first two rounds he got two podiums; third place in the third race at both Brands Hatch and Thruxton Circuit. He got podiums in all three races at Round 4, Oulton Park, taking his first win in the series in the third race. ^[16] At the fifth round at Croft Circuit he came second place in the third race, bagging another podium for his Formula 4 campaign. He was on a consistent points streak in Knockhill and Snetterton until making contact with Aiden Neate during the third race at Snetterton, while fighting for a top ten position. ^[17]

Sharp added two more third places to his podium tally in the first and third races at Thruxton. In Silverstone Sharp got his second win of the season in the first race, after the original race winner Oliver Gray was penalised. Sharp came third in the reverse-grid race, but stalled on the grid and consequently retired from the third race. ^[18]

The first race in the final round at Brands Hatch did not go well for Sharp, as while he was battling his teammate Ugo Ugochukwu for 4th position his car began to smoke and the Kiwi was forced to jump out of the car before it caught fire. ^[19] He had more luck during the rest of the round, coming 3rd and 2nd in the final races of the season. He finished 4th in the championship, behind his teammates, Ugochukwu and Gray despite not competing in the first round, narrowly pipping Joseph Loake to 4th in the championship standings with 272 points, just one point ahead of Loake.

2023

Sharp made his debut in the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship for the Trophy Rounds only, which took place in late 2022 and served as a support race for the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Sharp drove with Carlin and won both races in an 11 car grid. ^{[20] [21]}

He returned to the F4 British Championship in 2023, rejoining the newly rebranded Rodin Carlin team in hopes of winning the title, and was teammates with Australian Noah Lisle and Brit Josh Irfan. ^{[13] [15]} Sharp started the season by taking victory in the first two races in the opening round at Donington Park. ^{[22] [23]} After a season-long fight with William Macintyre, in which he took four more wins, he eventually became British F4 Champion. ^{[2] [24] [25] [26]} As the British F4 Champion Sharp also won an experience in the Simulator of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. ^[27]

Motorsport News voted Sharp as (British) National Racing Driver of the Year for 2023, becoming the youngest ever driver to win the award, the first from outside Europe and the first single seater winner. He was also awarded the Henry Surtees Award, an accolade handed out by the British Racing Drivers' Club for the most outstanding performance by a member of the BRDC Rising Stars initiative. ^{[28] [29] [30]}

2024 - GB3

He was announced to drive for Kiwi-team Rodin Motorsport for the 2024 GB3 Championship, ^[31] which was the main sponsor of Rodin Carlin and had taken over the team in early 2024. ^{[32] [33]} Sharp started his campaign with a pole position at the first race of the first round at Oulton Park, he converted his maiden pole to a maiden win and got his second pole position in the next race, finishing that race in second place. ^{[34] [35] [36]}

Following two podiums at Spa-Francorchamps, he achieved his second win of the season at the Hungaroring and claimed two more podiums at Silverstone. Sharp got two more pole positions at the penultimate round in Donington Park which he converted to wins. He led the championship coming into the final round at Brands Hatch, with his closest rivals being Briton John Bennett and Pole Tymek Kucharczyk. He got pole in the second race and won it, and in the final race of the season he finished in 10th place, winning the championship with 478 points.

2025 - FIA Formula 3

Sharp joined Rodin Carlin for the final post-season test of the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship at Imola. ^{[37] [38]}

2025

Shortly after clinching the GB3 title, Sharp was announced to be promoted to FIA Formula 3 for the 2025 season, continuing with Rodin Motorsport. ^[39]

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2014	Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship – Cadet class		18th
2015	Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship – Cadet class		4th
	Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship – Cadet class		3rd
2016	Giltrap Group Kartsport NZ Sprint Championship – Cadet class		12th
	Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship – Cadet class		4th
2017	Sievwright Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship – Cadet class		1st
	NZ Top Half Series – Cadet class
	Kartsport Auckland City of Sails – Cadet Rok class		4th
	Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship – Cadet class		1st
2018	Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship – Mini ROK class		2nd
	Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship presented by Napier Boys High School – Vortex Mini Rok		9th
2019	Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship – Mini ROK class		1st
	ROK Cup Superfinal – Mini ROK	Av Racing
	Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship – Vortex Mini Rok		11th

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2020	Formula First Manfeild Winter Series	Sabre Motorsport	6	1	0	0	6	375	5th
2020–21	NZ Formula First Championship	Track Tec Racing	23	0	0	2	1	993	6th
2021–22	Yokohama South Island Formula 1600 Series		11	5	2	5	10	747	5th
2022	F4 British Championship	Carlin	27	2	0	1	12	272	4th
	Formula 4 UAE Championship – Trophy Round		2	2	0	2	2	N/A	1st
2023	F4 British Championship	Rodin Carlin	30	6	4	4	14	384	1st
2024	GB3 Championship	Rodin Motorsport	23	5	5	1	10	478	1st
2025	FIA Formula 3 Championship	Rodin Motorsport	0	0	0	0	0	0	TBD

Complete F4 British Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	DC	Points
2022	Carlin	DON 1	DON 2	DON 3	BHI 1 10	BHI 2 6	BHI 3 3	THR1 1 13	THR1 2 9	THR1 3 3	OUL 1 2	OUL 2 25	OUL 3 1	CRO 1 4	CRO 2 6	CRO 3 2	KNO 1 4	KNO 2 6	KNO 3 4	SNE 1 7	SNE 2 4	SNE 3 17	THR2 1 3	THR2 2 71	THR2 3 3	SIL 1 1	SIL 2 33	SIL 3 Ret	BHGP 1 Ret	BHGP 2 31	BHGP 3 2		4th	272
2023	Rodin Carlin	DPN 1 1	DPN 2 110	DPN 3 6	BHI 1 Ret	BHI 2 43	BHI 3 4	SNE 1 C	SNE 2 136	SNE 3 3	THR 1 3	THR 2 127	THR 3 3	OUL 1 4	OUL 2 19	OUL 3 6	SIL 1 12	SIL 2 37	SIL 3 9	CRO 1 1	CRO 2 163	CRO 3 1	KNO 1 2	KNO 2 151	KNO 3 7	DPGP 1 1	DPGP 2 3	DPGP 3 610	DPGP 4 3	BHGP 1 1	BHGP 2 118	BHGP 3 2	1st	384

Complete GB3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	DC	Points
2024	Rodin Motorsport	OUL 1 1	OUL 2 2	OUL 3 57	SIL1 1 4	SIL1 2 5	SIL1 3 C	SPA 1 3	SPA 2 3	SPA 3 Ret	HUN 1 7	HUN 2 1	HUN 3 4	ZAN 1 4	ZAN 2 Ret	ZAN 3 72	SIL2 1 2	SIL2 2 2	SIL2 3 74	DON 1 1	DON 2 1	DON 3 66	BRH 1 7	BRH 2 1	BRH 3 10	1st	478

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2025	Rodin Motorsport	BHR SPR	BHR FEA	MEL SPR	MEL FEA	IMO SPR	IMO FEA	MON SPR	MON FEA	CAT SPR	CAT FEA	RBR SPR	RBR FEA	SIL SPR	SIL FEA	SPA SPR	SPA FEA	HUN SPR	HUN FEA	MNZ SPR	MNZ FEA	TBD	TBD

* Season still in progress.

References

1. "Louis Sharp | Motorsport Racing Driver". Rodin Cars. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
2. "Young talent clinches Formula 4 Championship title". Newark Advertiser . 11 October 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
3. Alvey, Daniel (6 October 2023). "Teenager F4 driver revs up for race of his life". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
4. Smith, Damien (28 September 2023). "The next Liam Lawson? The Kiwi dominating F4 with F1 aspirations". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
5. "Louis Sharp - a young man in a hurry". motorsportplus.co. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
6. "Louis Sharp to contest NZ Formula First Series". motorsport.org.nz. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
7. Carrell, Benjamin (6 March 2020). "One to watch in the future". Talk Motorsport. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
8. Supplied (3 October 2019). "Kiwi karting champion, age 12, makes European debut". Talk Motorsport. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
9. Peters, Jordie (2 August 2020). "Louis Sharp wins first race in the same car as Liam Lawson". Talk Motorsport. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
10. Supplied (1 September 2020). "Louis Sharp to contest NZ Formula First Series". Talk Motorsport. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
11. Carrell, Benjamin (21 April 2021). "Podium for Sharp at NZ Formula First Championship finale". Talk Motorsport. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
12. "Carlin adds FF1600 racer Louis Sharp to British F4 line-up – Formula Scout". 8 March 2022.
13. Wood, Ida (8 December 2022). "Louis Sharp continues with Carlin for a second year in British F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
14. "F4 driver profile Louis Sharp". fiaformula4.com. December 2023. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
15. "Sharp remains with Carlin for 2023 F4 British Championship assault". Rodin Motorsport (Press release). 8 December 2022.
16. Wood, Ida (12 June 2022). "Kiwi youngster Louis Sharp wins in British F4 at Oulton Park". Formula Scout.
17. Waring, Bethanie (14 August 2022). "Dunne wins with faultless Snetterton drive". Formula Scout.
18. Waring, Bethanie (25 September 2022). "Gray wins safety car-disrupted third British F4 race at Silverstone". Formula Scout.
19. Waring, Bethanie (8 October 2022). "Loake wins Brands Hatch opener, Dunne crowned British F4 champion". Formula Scout.
20. Wood, Ida (20 November 2022). "Carlin's Louis Sharp wins the F4 support races at the Abu Dhabi GP". Formula Scout.
21. Brabner, George (9 December 2022). "Sharp ends 2022 with F4 UAE Trophy Race sweep: 'It couldn't have gone much better'". Feeder Series. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
22. Rickert, Andrew (23 April 2023). "Louis Sharp wins British Formula 4 season opener". RACEWEEK. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
23. Waring, Bethonie (23 April 2023). "Sharp comes from back of reversed grid to win again in British F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
24. McNamara, Rebecca (9 October 2023). "Louis Sharp emulates Lando Norris to win F4 title". Motorsport UK. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
25. Jordie (8 October 2023). "Louis Sharp crowned British F4 champion at Brands Hatch". motorsport.org.nz. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
26. Mackley, Stefan (8 October 2023). "Sharp edges Macintyre to secure British F4 title". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
27. "Louis Sharp takes advantage of Mercedes F1 sim experience". Talk Motorsport (Press release). 17 October 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
28. Kermeen, Mat (10 February 2024). "Teenage star Louis Sharp following the Liam Lawson and Rodin track to F1". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
29. "Louis Sharp voted Motorsport News National Racing Driver of the Year". motorsport.org.nz. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
30. "Louis Sharp presented with the Henry Surtees Award". motorsport.org.nz. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
31. "Louis Sharp takes another step towards Formula 1 dream". motorsport.org.nz. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
32. Wood, Ida (19 January 2024). "British F4 champion Louis Sharp steps up to GB3 with Rodin Motorsport". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
33. Wood, Ida (9 January 2024). "Carlin rebrands to Rodin Motorsport as it loses its co-founder". Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
34. "GB3 Qualifying: Sharp scythes to pole at Oulton Park". GB3 . 30 March 2024.
35. "GB3 Race 1: Sharp straight to the point with victory in Oulton Park opener". GB3 . 30 March 2024.
36. "Race two starts at 09.30 – Sharp on pole". GB3 . 1 April 2024.
37. "Formula 3 concludes 2023 campaign with post-season testing in Imola". fiaformula3.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
38. Allen, Peter (22 October 2023). "F4 champions Sztuka and Sharp join final post-season F3 test". Formula Scout. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
39. "Rodin Motorsport confirm Louis Sharp as first signing for the 2025 season". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.

External links

• Louis Sharp career summary at DriverDB.com