Mercedes to bankroll search for Germany’s next F1 hero

Mercedes has formally joined forces with ADAC, Germany’s powerful motoring organisation, to launch a fully-funded program aimed at producing the country’s next Formula 1 star.

Toto Wolff said at Zandvoort that the spiralling cost of the junior ladder has become impossible for ordinary families.

“If you want to run a competitive karting program, it costs 250,000 euros a year for ten-year-olds,” he revealed. “In Formula 4, you need more like a million. And it goes on like this. Nobody can afford that anymore without the support of the industry.”

The goal is clear: find and nurture the next homegrown champion. “As a German brand, we would like to have a German in Formula 1 again in a few years, someone we nurtured, like Kimi Antonelli or George Russell,” Wolff said.

“We won’t do this half-heartedly with ADAC. We’ll do it to identify the best. We’re brutal in that regard.”

Talents as young as 10 will be scouted, placed into shootouts with equal machinery, and - if they impress - carried financially all the way through the single-seater pyramid.

Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius, who pushed the project personally, hopes the initiative will revive national enthusiasm.

“Perhaps we’ll find the next Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, or Nico Rosberg,” he said. “We want to inspire and make it clear, there’s an opportunity. Maybe one day you’ll be sitting in a Mercedes-AMG cockpit.”

ADAC, which already runs junior support schemes, welcomed the extra clout and cash from F1’s most successful modern team.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, chairman of the ADAC Sports Foundation, said: “Normal families don’t have the financial resources. For this reason, all those who are financially unable to do so are eliminated early, even if they have talent.

"If this talent exists and is identified, then this family no longer needs to worry about financing their career.”

Wolff also invited other German companies to contribute, insisting that Mercedes won’t hesitate to back multiple drivers if more than one proves to be at international level.

“We’ll only continue if we see potential,” he said. “But more than one individual could certainly be followed long-term if their performance compares favourably with international competition.”