Could this be Poland's next Formula 1 star? "I definitely need a good team"

Kacper Sztuka, an emerging young talent, sees his future in F1. He spent his rookie year in Italy with the AS Motorsport team and joined US Racing in 2022. He made an impressive start with two podium finishes in the first round at Imola, where he took his first win. The 16-year-old Polish racing driver in F4, who started in motorsport at the age of four, speaks about his career and future plans in an exclusive interview with GPBlog.

The beginnings and adventure of go-karting

Kacper Sztuka began his adventure with karts when he was four years old. When asked what made him choose this particular sport, Kacper talks about the influence of his dad Łukasz Sztuka, a famous Polish rally driver. "I actually started as a four-year-old, so it was definitely not a fully conscious decision. My dad was a rally driver and I also went karting with a friend at first. Above all, I loved the sport from the [start] and then with the help of my dad we moved on and I fell in love with the sport for good."

Biggest Inspiration

Kacper's biggest role model is Finnish racing and rally driver Kimi Räikkönen. "I am inspired by his composure and his cool approach to driving. It is his quality that I model myself on," he told GPblog.

In addition to Räikkönen, Kacper Art is also impressed by two-time Formula One world champion from the 2021 and 2022 seasons Max Verstappen and Monegasque racing driver Charles Leclerc. "In terms of driving, Max Verstappen is really very fast. On a single lap, I think he is one of the fastest drivers of any we have had in F1. However, you know Max is quite aggressive in racing. So I think such an overall favourite of mine is Charles Leclerc who is fast, but he's also had a bit of a convoluted road to F1. However, I think he is also quite composed in races. Maybe you don't see it right after an accident or somewhere like he's shouting on the radio, but in the final he doesn't make any very aggressive moves. If he makes fewer mistakes, I think he is world champion material," he said.

Debut at Circuit Paul Ricard

In May 2021, Sztuka made his debut at Circuit Paul Ricard, becoming the youngest-ever Polish racing driver in Formula 4. Asked about his impressions, he told GPBlog about his adventure as a rookie. ''I was ready for this debut for sure. I think I prepared as well as I could, especially because there wasn't as much driving as normal, so the work I did on the simulator was important and I had already done it a lot beforehand."

Kacper stresses that he had already been preparing for this moment since 2017. "The debut itself went well, also the icing on the cake for these preparations was the podium in the rookie classification which certainly gave me some hope for the rest of the season," he added.

Future in F1

Asked about his plans for the future, Art confirms that he is aiming to participate in F1. ''It's been my goal from the beginning since I've been driving in karting to just make it to F1."

For now, Kacper is in F4, so he has another four or five years to go before he can apply for a place in any of the teams in F1. The young Polish driver speaks about his expectations when it comes to a future start in F1. He emphasises how important it is for him to select the right team. ''The main factor that separates good drivers from weak ones is the team, so I definitely need a good team. One that will teach me something and be able to set up the car well."

A badly matched team is Kacper's biggest concern, especially when it comes to realising his potential and getting the car fast enough. "I won't be able to show my potential because simply the car won't be able to go as fast as the frontrunners and I won't be able to use that potential, because of that I won't get noticed and somewhere down the line this career will go a bit."