IT IS not the best of times for Australian open-wheel racing.. but fortunately it’s not the worst of times either.

For all the politics around Formulas Ford, 4, 3 and 5000 there’s still a brace of handy young drivers climbing the open-wheel ladder that are cause for analysis.

And before the angry dads / mothers write in about how we didn’t feature your son / daughter: we’re sorry.. suffice to say there’s room for a follow-up column down the road!

So here’s a brief look at five of the young drivers we’re keeping an eye on this year.

Hunter McElrea
Australian Formula Ford Series

IF the surname is familar, it’s because 17-year-old Hunter is the son of well-known team owner Andy – who heads up Carrera Cup powerhouse McElrea Racing from their Gold Coast base.

A third-generation racer, Hunter stepped into serious Formula Ford competition last year after a successful time in karting.

Interestingly, despite having the resources and experience of his dad’s racing team behind him, Hunter took the decision to team with Sonic Motor Racing and carve his own path through the junior ranks.

And as good as McElrea are, there’s no one better nor more successful in Formula Ford than the Melbourne team headed up by Mick and Maria Ritter and there’s something to be said for drivers going outside of their comfort zone – so that’s impressive.

Hunter’s 2017 season has had its ups and downs: He’s fourth in the championship and has one pole position and a win to his credit but bad luck and some unforced errors mean he could be higher up the order. But he’s also had blinding speed and last time out at Winton he strung together a consistent weekend.

As a national-level full time rookie he’s shown plenty enough in just three rounds to absolutely make him one to watch this year.

Ryan Suhle
CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship

WHEN Zagame Autosport’s new rookie burst onto the scene at Sandown’s F4 double-header opener this April, most people went ‘who?’.

But it was clear from the outset that this kid has serious talent and for those who have the ability to put political opinions aside for a moment, if it wasn’t for F4 and the Rising Star program that backs young drivers into the category we probably wouldn’t have seen it – at least not this early.

Suhle turned 15 on the Sunday of the opening round but was immediately on the pace, grabbing a shock pole position and a brace of podiums on his debut – not a bad outcome against a talented grid, in horrible conditions and for what amounted to his fourth national-level race.

He’s since notched up a race win and has run at the front of the pack at every circuit the series has visited.

We know Cam McConville, who heads up Zagame’s racing program, has big wraps on this kid from Queensland so we suspect watching his progress will make for interesting viewing.

Liam Lawson
CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship.

“WHERE the bloody hell do they find these kids?” was the question asked in the Sandown paddock when young Kiwi Liam Lawson burst onto the Australian scene with a shock round victory in April this year.

Unsurprisingly, it was also in shockingly wet conditions so while his ability to make a Mygale dance in the rain wasn’t a surprise, it was still impressive for a first-timer to the notoriously slippery Sandown.

Lawson won last year’s Formula Ford championship in the land of the Long White Cloud and was a late addition to the F4 grid this year, driving with Team BRM (who have a habit of pulling young Kiwi drivers from across the ditch).

But with Kiwi legend Ken Smith supporting his every move, and engineering from the guru that is Stephen Giles it’s been a strong start to his Aussie career.

The best thing is that if and when he turns out to be the next Scott Dixon we’ll absolutely be able to claim him as our own.

Josh Denton
CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship.

NOW into his second year in the category, Denton – the son of Karting guru Craig – has trod the familiar story of piecing together his junior career without the advantage of a rich family or a big benefactor – hence the numerous sponsor stickers from local Adelaide businesses that adorn his Team BRM entry this year.

What’s more, he was only confirmed to contest the opening round this year when some funding came through on the Wednesday prior to the round, meaning his pre-season preparation amounted to: Zilch.

Fortunately, the Adelaide teenager has developed in his second F4 campaign and has become a consistent front runner in the category: including marching to his second ever race win earlier this year.

Adelaide has Nick Percat and Tim Slade kicking goals in Supercars at the moment and Todd Hazelwood on the cusp: but behind that there’s precious few talented youngsters plying their trade so from a parochial point of view, and we make no apologies for that, Denton is doing a super job!

Calan Williams
Formula 3 Premier Series

IT is easy to feel a bit sorry for this young (he’s 16) West Aussie Formula Ford graduate, because he signed up for a championship (the stillborn ‘Formula A’) that turned into something different by the time he first turned a lap – however political machinations of the sport aside, there’s no denying this young gun has the drive and talent to make it happen.

He’s clearly worked hard to attract support from sponsors and raise his profile on social media and that’s good to see.

From what we can tell he’s also been pretty handy behind the wheel of his Gilmour Racing team Dallara and a season of just logging laps in one of those beasts will do him the world of good, even if the series doesn’t carry the profile of others by virtue of running at state level events.

On a new, softer tyre, he sliced a second from the Morgan Park lap record in the opening round and won a race, too.

A year under the radar, learning from team boss Errol Gilmour, will probably do him good because if he can be fast and consistent in an F3 car he should be able to do it in anything.

Honourable Mentions:

Cameron Shields has been around for a couple of seasons now (which is why he didn’t get his own section – he proved himself last year!), but the young man from Toowoomba continues to impress having stepped into F4 this year. He’s got good backing from McDonald’s franchisee Mark Ward and has every chance to build on the efforts of fellow Banana Benders Will Brown and Jordan Lloyd in past years.

Max Vidau has been very strong in Formula Ford this season and has built up a solid junior category CV on which to build next year.

We’ll also give cudos to Nick Rowe for continuing to be as fast as ever – but broadening his experience with miles in other cars as well.