'Short of money' to achieve his F1 dreams, Zak O'Sullivan bounces back in Super Formula

The Williams academy driver had to end his Formula 2 season last year due to lack of funding. Dropped by ART GP, he moved to Super Formula to continue his career.

Published 22/01/2025 à 17:31

Cyprien Juilhard

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'Short of money' to achieve his F1 dreams, Zak O'Sullivan bounces back in Super Formula

Zak O'Sullivan claimed his greatest victory last year on the streets of Monaco. @DPPI

The end of the season Formula 2 is traditionally a grand ball, where seats are exchanged, the most disappointing drivers leave, new faces from the lower categories arrive to try their luck… But some departures are more surprising than others. When Zak O'Sullivan announces the end of his season after the Monza meeting (August 30 – September 1, 2024), the news is enough to raise questions.

The Briton then rode with ART GP, with whom he discovered the category. His first year was encouraging, with the highlight being a victory – a bit lucky – in the Main Race in Monaco, ahead of Isack Hadjar. Protégé of the academy Williams, O'Sullivan then seems to have the future ahead of him. Second in British F4 in 2020, then British F3 champion the following year, he finished second in the Formula 3 in 2023 behind a certain Gabriel Bortoleto before making his debut in Formula 2. His first season ended abruptly, due to a lack of sufficient funding to complete the three remaining meetings.

“In our sport, there are more factors at play than just the stopwatch. The problem is simple: I will not be able to finish this F2 season with ART GP. I am gutted that I will not be able to show my talents for the rest of the year.” regretted the Briton in a post on his X account on September 9.

O'Sullivan bounces back in Super Formula thanks to Toyota

Just over four months later, the Cheltenham native has returned to his financial worries to The Race. " I was short of money for a while, even towards the end of F3 [in 2023]. We managed to get a good drive with the help of Williams in F2, but, like all academies, they are not going to fully support you.

“I think a lot of people see a team livery of F1 on the car and assume that the driver is fully funded, fully supported, but that's not the case and understandably so; it's a massive investment for the F1 team with no guarantee in return." continues the 19-year-old.

Now, his future within the Williams Academy seems compromised, while Luke Browning, his replacement at ART, seems set to become the natural successor to Franco Colapinto as third driver. For his part, Zak O'Sullivan has found a nice exit door by joining Toyota, who placed him in the Kondo team in Super Formula, where he will team up with the Japanese Kenta Yamashita.

The Japanese manufacturer also announced the arrival of Oliver Rasmussen from Hertz Team JOTA in WEC and Sacha Fenestraz, until then engaged in Formula E with Nissan. The Franco-Argentinian, 2nd in Super Formula in 2022, will team up with Sho Tsuboi, the reigning champion.

ALSO READ > O'Sullivan and Rasmussen to race in Japan in 2025

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1 Comment (s)

Yves-Henri RANDIER

22/01/2025 at 06:40 a.m.

Money, more than ever the sinews of war in motorsport! But haven't the various sectors/academies also "reduced the sails" a little, seeing talented and financially supported drivers leave one sector/academies to join another team. What's the point of investing so much in an academy if it's possible to get back the good ones, isn't that right "Brille A Tort" and Binotto with Colapinto and Bortoleto?

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