Marvin Dienst and Benjamin Mazatis have been given a major morale boost heading in to the 2014 season, with both drivers being announced as the newest members of the McLaren Junior Programme.
Dienst is just under four weeks away from the start of his second season in the Formel ADAC championship, the series that saw McLaren’s latest talent, Kevin Magnussen, hone his skills. He will compete for reigning teams champions Mucke Motorsport.
“The weekend was incredibly interesting,” said 17-year-old Dienst, following a visit to the McLaren Performance Academy in Woking. “I picked up a lot of information, tips and tricks that will all come in very handy.”
Mazatis comes from the Mucke Motorsport squad, but the 16-year-old is set to spend 2014 as a trainee before potentially graduating to a race drive in Formel ADAC for 2015.
“It’s an indescribable feeling to be part of the McLaren family,” said a delighted Mazatis. “The competition to get into the Academy was huge, but after an extremely rigorous selection process, I was accepted. The three days in Woking were highly instructive and will certainly help me in my career.”
Dienst and Mazatis bring the total number of drivers on the programme up to 18, and make up the only two successful candidates from Germany. Former members of the McLaren Junior programme include 2008 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton and Magnussen, who drove to second on his debut at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.
Should the duo make it to Formula 1, they will join the list of drivers who started in Formel ADAC, which includes Sebastien Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg and DTM stars Martin Tomczyk and Timo Glock.
