Sebastian Wheldon

Sebastian Wheldon
Wheldon in 2025
Nationality	American British
Born	(2009-02-01) 1 February 2009 (age 16) St. Petersburg, Florida
Related to	Dan Wheldon (father) Oliver Wheldon (brother)
USF Juniors career
Debut season	2024
Current team	Velocity Racing Development
Car number	98
Starts	16
Wins	4
Podiums	9
Poles	2
Fastest laps	4
Previous series
2023 2024	Skip Barber Formula Race Series YACademy Winter Series

Sebastian Wheldon (born 1 February 2009) ^[1] is an American racing driver currently competing in the 2025 Italian F4 Championship with Prema Racing. In 2024, he competed in USF Juniors with Velocity Racing Development. Wheldon is a member of Andretti Global's driver development programme. ^{[2] [3]}

Early and personal life

Wheldon was born on 1 February 2009 in St. Petersburg, Florida. ^[4]

Wheldon is the son of IndyCar champion and two-times Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who was killed in an accident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011. ^[5] His younger brother, Oliver, is also a racing driver. ^[6] Wheldon was featured in the HBO Max documentary The Lionheart, which covered the legacy of his father's death on him, his brother, and his mother, Susie Wheldon. ^{[7] [8]}

During the 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Wheldon drove the pace car during the parade lap in honor of his father. ^{[6] [9]}

Career

Karting

Wheldon had a consistent karting career, with his best championship result at the national stage being a 3rd place in the SKUSA Winter Series in 2020, in the Mini Swift category. Wheldon has competed in the SKUSA SuperNationals twice in 2021 and 2022, with a best result of 7th in the X30 Junior category in 2021. ^[10]

Lower formulae

2023

Wheldon made his car racing debut in 2023, in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series. He managed to win the title against some experienced opposition including the likes of Jeshua Alianell, who had competed in the championship for two years previously. Wheldon amassed a total of 13 podiums, six wins and 10 fastest laps as he finished on 456 points over the course of 16 races. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

2024

In early 2024, it was announced that Wheldon joined the YACademy Winter Series with the VRD team, who would also be running his entry into the 2024 USF Juniors season. ^[13] Wheldon impressed in YACademy, winning once and standing on the podium four times in just six races, losing out on the title to sophomore driver Jack Jeffers. ^[14] As he moved on to the main season of USF Juniors, Wheldon had a strong first round, winning two races out of three and finishing second in the other at NOLA Motorsports Park, demonstrating that he would be a title contender as he moved to the top of the championship as a result. ^{[15] [16]}

In December, Wheldon took part in the final round of Formula Trophy UAE. He achieved pole position and a victory during race 1 at the Yas Marina Circuit, marking his first motorsport win outside of the Americas. The next day, he placed fourth in race two. ^[17]

2025

At the start of 2025, Wheldon competed in the F4 Middle East Championship with Prema Racing. ^[18] He finished in third place during round one at Yas Marina. ^[19]

For his main campaign, Wheldon is set to compete in the Italian F4 Championship and E4 Championship with Prema Racing. ^{[4] [20] [21]}

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2014	WKA Manufacturer's Cup - Kid Kart		4th
2019	Florida Winter Tour - Mini ROK	JC Karting	6th
	ROK the Rio - Mini ROK		10th
	Biloxi ROK Fest - Mini ROK		19th
2020	SKUSA Winter Series - Mini Swift		3rd
	Florida Winter Tour - Mini ROK	JC Karting	5th
	SKUSA Pro Tour - Mini Swift		11th
2021	SKUSA SuperNationals - KA100 Junior	JC Karting	13th
	SKUSA SuperNationals - X30 Junior		7th
2022	SKUSA SuperNationals - X30 Junior	JC Karting	10th
Sources: [22] [23]

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2023	Skip Barber Formula Race Series	Skip Barber Racing School	16	6	10	10	13	456	1st
2024	YACademy Winter Series	Velocity Racing Development	6	1	1	3	4	33	2nd
	USF Juniors		16	4	2	4	9	308	3rd
	Formula Trophy UAE	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	2	1	1	1	1	37	9th
2025	F4 Middle East Championship	Prema Racing	15	0	0	0	1	90	7th
	Italian F4 Championship		9	3	1	3	6	136*	2nd*
	E4 Championship		0	0	0	0	0	0	TBD

American open-wheel racing results

USF Juniors

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
2024	Velocity Racing Development	NOL 1 1*	NOL 2 2"	NOL 3 1*	ALA 1 6	ALA 2 2	VIR 1 21	VIR 2 19	VIR 3 1	MOH 1 22	MOH 2 4	ROA 1 8	ROA 2 18*	ROA 3 1*	POR 1 2	POR 2 3	POR 3 2	3rd	308

Complete Formula Trophy UAE results

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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	DC	Points
2024	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	DUB 1	DUB 2	DUB 3	YMC1 1	YMC1 2	YMC2 1 1	YMC2 2 4	9th	37

Complete F4 Middle East 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	DC	Points
2025	Prema Racing	YMC1 1 3	YMC1 2 7	YMC1 3 5	YMC2 1 25†	YMC2 2 12	YMC2 3 5	DUB 1 Ret	DUB 2 9	DUB 3 7	YMC3 1 12	YMC3 2 8	YMC3 3 7	LUS 1 8	LUS 2 8	LUS 3 17	7th	90

Complete Italian F4 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	DC	Points
2025	Prema Racing	MIS1 1 1	MIS1 2	MIS1 3 2	MIS1 4 5	VLL 1	VLL 2 2	VLL 3 1	VLL 4 25	MNZ 1 1	MNZ 2 3	MNZ 3 28	MUG 1 7	MUG 2 4	MUG 3 14	IMO 1 10	IMO 2 C	IMO 3 11	CAT 1	CAT 2	CAT 3	MIS2 1	MIS2 2	MIS2 3	3rd*	155*

Complete E4 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	DC	Points
2025	Prema Racing	LEC 1 3	LEC 2 4	LEC 3 3	MUG 1	MUG 2	MUG 3	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	MNZ 3	4th*	42*

^* Season still in progress.

References

1. "Sebastian Wheldon (R)". USF Juniors . Retrieved 23 December 2024.
2. Wood, Ida (24 April 2021). "Andretti signs Dan Wheldon's sons Oliver and Sebastian as junior drivers". Formula Scout. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
3. Ryan, Nate (24 April 2021). "Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon, sons of late Indy 500 winner, signed by Andretti Autosport". NBC Sports . Retrieved 15 April 2025.
4. "PREMA announces Wheldon for 2025 F4 Programme". Prema Racing. 23 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
5. Caldwell, Dave (8 June 2021). "Susie Wheldon: 'Dan would have been over the moon about our sons racing'". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
6. Brown, Nathan (21 February 2025). "Dan Wheldon's son, wife take honorary starting roles for IndyCar's 2025 visit to St. Pete". The Indianapolis Star . Retrieved 15 April 2025.
7. Fryer, Jenna (12 March 2024). "The Lionheart: Dan Wheldon documentary covers grief, loss, love and familial legacy". Associated Press . Retrieved 15 April 2025.
8. Gregory, Sean (12 March 2024). "Her Husband Died After a Car Crash. Now Her Sons Are Racing Too". TIME . Retrieved 15 April 2025.
9. "Dan Wheldon's family to fill key roles at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg". Tampa Bay Times. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
10. "Driver: Sebastian Wheldon | Driver Database". DriverDatabase. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
11. "Championships | Driver Database". DriverDatabase. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
12. "Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon taking next steps in their father's footsteps". RACER. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
13. "Sebastian Wheldon To Make USF Juniors Debut This Season". IndyCar Series . 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
14. Wood, Ida (2024-02-11). "Jack Jeffers wins YACademy Winter Series title at Homestead-Miami". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
15. Wood, Ida (7 April 2024). "Sebastian Wheldon starts the USF Juniors season on top". Formula Scout. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
16. Simmons, Marcus (12 April 2024). "Wheldon Jr hailed as big talent by team boss after winning debut". Motorsport.com . Retrieved 15 April 2025.
17. McClure, Michael (18 December 2024). "Wheldon 'didn't expect' to win first race outside US as he eyes Europe move". Feeder Series. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
18. "PREMA Racing set for dual Middle Eastern challenge". Prema Racing . 13 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
19. Kra-Caskey, Calla (20 January 2025). "Feeder Series weekend review: 17–19 January". Feeder Series. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
20. Wood, Ida (23 December 2024). "Andretti junior Sebastian Wheldon to spend 2025 with Prema in F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
21. Konenski, Austin (23 December 2024). "Sebastian Wheldon joins PREMA Racing for 2025 Formula 4 season". Motorsports Wire. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
22. "Driver: Sebastian Wheldon | Driver Database". DriverDatabase. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
23. "Wheldon Sebastian". Kartcom (in French). Retrieved 12 May 2024.