Teenager Sebastien Amadio among competitors at revived Adelaide Motorsport Festival
He may be on his P plates but that won’t stop rising Adelaide star Sebastien Amadio from hitting speeds of more than 250km/h this weekend and chasing his Formula One dreams.
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He may still be on his P plates but that won’t stop teenage race car driver Sebastien Amadio from hitting speeds of more than 250km/h at this weekend’s Adelaide Motorsport Festival at Victoria Park.
The 18-year-old rising star will be racing his S5000 open-wheel race car in the Tipo F1 Super Sprint competition, on a section of the old Formula One track taking in the hairpin and Senna Chicane.
It is part of his preparation for this year’s national S5000 championship which features the fastest racing cars in Australian circuit racing, reaching speeds of up to 300km/h.
Mr Amadio said he developed a passion for racing as a young child, starting out with go-karts when he was just eight years old.
“The passion came from my dad (winemaker Danniel Amadio),” he said.
“He introduced me into the motorsport scene at a young age – at first it was a hobby and then he asked me if it was something I wanted to get involved with more heavily and take more seriously.
“And I thought ‘yeah sure, why not?’ It’s something that I found fun and enjoyable to do.”
Mr Amadio made his debut in the S5000 series at last year’s Melbourne Grand Prix, and later in the year competed at the VALO 500 in Adelaide.
After completing his Year 12 studies at St Ignatius College last year, he now spends much of his time in the Adelaide Hills vineyards and cellar door run by his family’s wine business.
But having recently secured the backing of property magnate Ross Pelligra, whose development company has signed on as a major sponsor, Mr Amadio is planning to dedicate more of his time to his racing passion.
And with the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri providing inspiration that Australians can make it to the very top of elite racing, Mr Amadio is hopeful of following a similar path.
“For now I’d like to try and win as many races as I can in the S5000 class, go as far as I can in Australia, and then eventually make my way overseas with open-wheel racing,” he said.
“The ideal dream for me is to get into Formula One. Obviously it’s not that easy, but you’ve got to go big and go international to get somewhere.”
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival returns this year for the first time in five years after securing $5.7 million in funding from the state government over four years.
Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas will be a star visitor to the event, where he will meet with fans and take part in track demonstrations driving an Alfa Romeo GTV Group A touring car.
Autonomous driving technology, electric race cars, electric bicycles, scooters, motorbikes and Australia’s first commercially produced electric aircraft – Adelaide’s Bader Aero – will also be on show.
The event kicks off with an East End street party on Friday night, featuring a parade of 25 rare cars.
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