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17-year-old Dion Gowda is part of the new generation of racers steering India’s hopes in the international racing scene. After an impressive single seater debut, he’s now set to step up to the Formula Regional European Championship this year, driving for Van Amersfoort Racing – a team that has helped develop drivers like Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Oliver Bearman.
We caught up with the Indian teen to discuss his journey up the Formula racing ladder, his expectations for 2025 and more.
Stellar start
After steadily climbing up the karting ladder in Asia and Europe, Gowda made his single seater debut in the 2023 F4 UAE winter series. He followed that up with a stellar rookie season in the British F4 championship, where he scored four race wins, three pole positions and six podiums enroute to finishing P4 in the championship.
2024 was a busy year of racing for the young Indian as he competed in F4 UAE, Italian F4 and Euro 4. And while the results were a lot more subdued (with three podium finishes across the year), Gowda stresses that he’s focusing on learning as much as possible in this stage of his racing career.
“I had a good start in British F4 and my second year wasn’t as strong as I’d like it to be. But it’s still the beginning and there’s lots to learn from that year as well,” he said.
As for his key takeaway after two seasons in F4, Gowda shared, “I think in motorsport it’s very easy to overdrive on track and try too hard. There’s a fine margin between being on the limit and being just slightly over. And when you’re hunting for a win or pole position, it’s super easy to go over,”
“So, it’s just about focusing on doing a good job, instead of trying to find everything on track and trying to maximise every corner.”
Graduating to Formula Regional European Championship
The move from karting to single seaters is one of the biggest steps in a young racing driver’s career. With that out of the way, Gowda will now be driving an F3-spec Tatuus T318 car in the Formula Regional European Championship, which kicks off in May 2025.
“Karting to single seaters is a huge step; it’s completely different” Gowda explained. “The step up from F4 cars [to F3 cars], the technique is fairly similar, with a few minor changes. You just need to get used to the extra speed, the tyre degradation and stuff like that.”
With Van Amersfoort Racing, he’s joining a team with a storied history of providing a stepping stone to some of the biggest names in motorsport today – four-time F1 champion Verstappen and Ferrari F1 racer Leclerc being among them.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to learn as much as I can from the team. They have an amazing work ethic towards not only maximising the car, but also helping the driver improve as much as they can,” said Gowda.
“It’s a major help. I’m still kind of at the beginning of my career and there’s still a long way to go. So, to have them help me through it, it’s great!”
As for his goals for the upcoming season? “As long as I am bettering myself and moving in the right direction, that’s all I can really ask for,” stated Gowda.
Part time GB3 campaign
Alongside competing in the Formula Regional European Championship, Gowda will also be competing in select rounds of the GB3 championship. He’ll be driving the new Tatuus MSV-GB3-025 for team Xcel Motorsport.
After all, in motorsport there is no practice better than actual seat time. “Testing and days on track get limited as you go up the [racing] ladder. So, you want to get as much driving time as possible before it gets to that point”, explained Gowda.
“The GB3 car is great and though I’m doing it with a new team, they have a lot of experienced people working with them and people that I’ve worked with before in British F4 as well, where we were quite competitive and fast.”
While he’s waiting for his 2025 racing season to get underway, Gowda already has his eyes set on the next step up. “I’d like to step up to FIA F3 next year, that’s the plan. But that depends on how this year goes,” he added.
Growth of motorsport in India
Recognising that in order to reach his F1 dreams, he’s going to have to be at the very heart of motorsport action, Gowda moved to London in 2018. He credits the move as a crucial step in his career.
“In Asia, motorsport is growing, but it’s simply just not as big as Europe at the moment,” Gowda explained. “It’s just where the centre of racing is. So, it was very important for me to come here and race in these championships.”
But Gowda does add that things are moving in the right direction in India, highlighting the F4 Indian Championship as “a great first step”.
“The popularity of F1 is growing [in India] and there are new tracks being built as well, which will help. It’s definitely going to be a long-term goal, but for sure in the future, I think it will be possible for India to become big on motorsport,” he added.
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