Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing have signed their first driver for the upcoming season in the German ADAC Formula 4 series. Talented German driver Mick Schumacher is making the switch from karting to open-wheel racing with the Dutch team.

"We've watched him carefully during tests, noting how skilful he is. We're looking forward to a successful season," said team owner Frits van Amersfoort. The Dutchman has a good reputation when it comes to spotting talent in motorsport. Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who will make his Formula 1 debut this year, is the youngest driver ever to move up from the ranks of Van Amersfoort Racing.

Earlier this year, Van Amersfoort Racing announced its plans to compete in this year's German ADAC Formula 4 series next to its FIA Formula 3 European Championship programme. Formula 4, the new single-seater category to FIA standards, aims at young drivers with a background in karting.

"In the last couple of years, it has become a tradition for us that we offer the runner-up from the German junior karting championship (DJKM) a test session in our simulator," Frits van Amersfoort explains. "This is handled by the DMSB, the German motorsport authority, and that is how we first got in touch with Mick Schumacher last autumn. He spent a full day in the simulator at our headquarters in The Netherlands. Then we witnessed him during a test session at Valencia and eventually, we reached an agreement to compete together in this year's ADAC Formula 4 series."

Negotiations with other drivers for the upcoming season are ongoing, announcements about the rest of Van Amersfoort Racing's line-up for the 2015 ADAC Formula 4 series will be made in due course.

With a history in motorsport going back almost 40 years, Van Amersfoort Racing has a long tradition of supporting up-and-coming drivers on their way to higher levels. Dutch drivers Max and Jos Verstappen, Christijan Albers, Giedo van der Garde and Huub Rothengatter all raced for Frits van Amersfoort's eponymous team in the early stages of their careers before making it into Formula 1. Other successful Van Amersfoort Racing graduates include Belgian Bas Leinders, who won the 1998 German F3 title with the team, Chinese Dutchman Ho Pin Tung and Dutchmen Tim and Tom Coronel, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Jaap van Lagen and Renger van der Zande.

Source: Team