Red Bull Contentpool
Interview
What it is like for a driver to be part of the Red Bull Academy
- Sandy van Wijngaarden
Dutch Emely de Heus joined the Red Bull Driver Academy since the beginning of this year. In an exclusive interview with GPblog, she tells how this came about and how she enjoyed this experience so far.
The 21-year-old said it has been about a year since she was told the news. ''Then we were told that Formula 1 teams are getting involved with F1 Academy. But it was not yet known who was with whom.''
The collaboration came about when Red Bull Racing approached her team, MP Motorsport. ''Then Red Bull approached MP, through MP they approached us. Me and my teammates. That was quite unexpected for me.''
The F1 Academy driver was immediately enthusiastic. ''That was quite a nice surprise of course. Then we were also allowed to sign immediately. At that time, it was not yet completely clear, anyway, that I am part of the Red Bull Academy, but I did not yet know about Ford. That was added later.''
What is it like being part of the Red Bull Driver Academy?
Joining the Red Bull Academy helps her on several levels. ''The part of sponsorship. That helps enormously. So that I can do this season anyway. They also help again with, sounds crazy, but with fame. Actually, you are more in the pictures for sponsors anyway actually.''
Appearing on Red Bull's social media channels is still a bit uncomfortable for De Heus. ''You get into social media a bit more. I'm not really a very social media type myself, but I still get into it. It does help to look for sponsors. In the end, that's the way you get in touch with new people as well,'' she says. Besides sponsorship and exposure, she can also use the racing simulator in Milton Keynes.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!