Australia's Costa Toparis is a driver to watch during the next few years, an exceptional talent that we don't see every day.
Costa Toparis, at 15 years of age, has joined Carlin, one of the world's premier driving teams outside of Formula One. This young man has relocated from Goulburn which is a small town in New South Wales, Australia to Farnham, Surrey in the United Kingdom to showcase his phenomenal driving talent as he continues his motor racing career.
Costa tested in an F4 with Carlin at Pembrey in South Wales last month and was offered a position on Carlin's team for 2023. He doesn't have a long time to get settled into a new home and environment before commencing a busy schedule for the remainder of 2022 including; an intensive testing program with Carlin, the FIA Motorsport Games in France (representing Motorsport Australia and Rodin-Cars.com) and the F4 support race at the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix. Costa's 2022 program will end with further testing at Rodin-Cars.com in New Zealand before returning to Australia for Christmas with his family. Costa's 2023 season will commence with the UAE F4 series in January/February as he waits for his 16th birthday, in order to start the GB3 series which he aims to win – in his first season with Carlin.
Rodin-Cars.com founder, Mr David Dicker, observed Costa's driving earlier this year and offered an opportunity to test in an F3 at the world class Rodin testing facility in Waiau, New Zealand. Although the weather conditions were not optimal, Costa impressed by breaking lap records - the very first time he drove an F3 car. Immediately, Mr Dicker recognised a special talent and offered to fund a testing day with Carlin in the UK. "I had no doubt that Costa would impress Carlin. He has the ability to perform under pressure and to get the job done" said Mr Dicker.
Trevor Carlin, team manager and owner, states "I had a good feeling when I met Costa and observed his F4 testing in the UK. Upon reflection and discussion with David (Dicker) and Costa, we decided his driving ability would be better suited to commence his career with us in GB3'. Carlin and Rodin-Cars.com have agreed to support Costa's pathway to Formula One.
Some of today's most successful drivers have passed through the doors of Carlin including F1 drivers; Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, among others. Former Carlin drivers add up to almost half of today's current F1 field.
Humble Beginnings
Costa has the objective to win an FIA Formula One Driver's World Championship. This intention has been bolstered by a smooth and impressive transition from Go-Karting to Formula Driving. Garth Walden from GWR provided the initial foray into cars, testing a Radical at the age of 14. The 2022 KA2 Australian Karting Champion lined up for his first F4/F3 race on his 15th birthday (6th of April), driving an F4 car against F3 cars and very experienced drivers, successfully earning his first pole position at Sydney Motorsport Park for AGI Sport.
Whilst Costa's first introduction to Formula 4 driving came from one of Australia's most respected teams, AGI Sport, it wasn't long before international team managers started reaching out to Costa with testing opportunities.
During the few months after Costa's first race in a Formula car, he continued to win races and break track records in Australia and is leading the Formula Series, Formula 4 championship. With international testing opportunities landing on his doorstep, Costa remained very grounded and focused on his training, Go-Kart racing, Formula 4 racing with AGI and his distance education program, based in Goulburn.
Coming from a small town in Australia with a very modest and humble family, Costa has had to grow up fast to meet the demands of the motorsport world. Costa manages his own distance education, training, mechanical work on his karts and often helps out in his family owned café, the Greengrocer. At 15 years young, Costa's manner exceeds his age. While Costa first appears to be a little shy, it's his clear objectives in life that have contributed to his early success. The well-mannered teenager impresses his elders with his confident communication, courtesy, gratitude, intelligence, physical presentation and his understanding of what it takes to be a champion.
Is Costa Toparis the epitome of a true champion? Perhaps the most notable attribute to Costa's natural driving talent is his understanding of the cars he drives and the ability to effectively communicate what changes are required to get the optimal performance out of his race car.
Australia's Costa Toparis is a driver to watch during the next few years, an exceptional talent that we don't see every day.
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