Colombian driver Salim Hanna has joined the Ferrari Driver Academy ahead of the 2027 season. The 16-year-old from Barranquilla will also compete in FIA Formula 3 with Spanish team Campos Racing, giving him two major opportunities to advance his motorsport career.
Ferrari announced Hanna’s inclusion in its young-driver development program on Oct. 16, 2026, the same day Campos Racing confirmed his place in its lineup for next season. Hanna will move into a full-time F3 campaign after competing in Formula Regional championships and making two appearances in the F3 series this year.
The double announcement places Hanna within Ferrari’s development system and gives him a seat with a team that has won the F3 Teams’ Championship in each of the past two seasons. While these steps don’t ensure an F1 drive, together they offer the Colombian a key opportunity to show his true potential.
What joining Ferrari’s academy means
Ferrari created its Driver Academy to identify and develop promising young racers. The program guides drivers from karting through junior single-seater series, building the skills they need to reach the top tiers of motorsport.
Hanna is one of three newcomers announced for Ferrari’s 2027 junior program, alongside Turkish driver Alp Aksoy and Daniel Miron, a young karter of Spanish-Dutch background. The academy’s roster covers several stages of development, including Formula 3 and Formula 2.
The program has helped develop drivers who later reached Formula 1, including Charles Leclerc, who joined the academy in 2016 before becoming a Ferrari race driver. Brazilian Rafael Camara, another academy graduate, is also due to join the Formula 1 grid with Haas in 2027.
Hanna’s selection puts him in a development structure with a record of preparing drivers for higher categories. His immediate challenge, however, will be to deliver results in F3, where he will face a full season of competition against other young drivers seeking to advance toward Formula 1.
Why Campos Racing matters
Campos Racing will give Hanna his first full season in FIA Formula 3, a championship that sits below Formula 2 on the traditional single-seater route toward Formula 1.
The Spanish team won the F3 Teams’ Championship in both 2025 and 2026, and its driver Ugo Ugochukwu secured the 2026 drivers’ title. That recent success gives Hanna the chance to develop within a team familiar with competing at the front of the grid.
Team principal Adrian Campos welcomed the Colombian’s arrival, highlighting the progress he has made since beginning his single-seater career. The team said it hoped to help Hanna continue developing and achieve strong results in 2027.
Hanna also expressed enthusiasm for the move. He said he felt comfortable and welcome at the team from the beginning and looked forward to learning, improving and fighting for competitive results next season.
Campos’ recent championships offer a positive starting point, but they do not determine how a rookie will perform. Hanna will need to adapt to the category, build consistency across the calendar and make the most of the opportunities his team can provide.
How Hanna reached Formula 3
Hanna began karting at age seven and remained in the discipline until 2024. His early achievements included victories in the Trofeo delle Industrie and the WSK Open Cup in 2022, two established events on the junior karting calendar.
He made his single-seater debut in the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2024, finishing fourth in his first Formula Trophy outing. In 2025, Hanna competed across four series: F4 Middle East, Italian F4, E4 and British F4.
According to FIA Formula 3, he recorded nine podium finishes and one victory across those championships, while finishing fourth in the Italian F4 standings and winning the series’ rookie title. He has also benefited from the guidance of former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya, as he progressed through the junior categories.
In 2026, Hanna progressed to the Formula Regional European Championship and the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy. In the European series, he finished seventh in the standings, with one victory and three additional podium finishes.
He also gained initial experience in FIA Formula 3 by competing at the Spielberg round in Austria and the Budapest round in Hungary. Those appearances introduced him to the championship before his move to a full-time seat for 2027.
The next season will demand a different level of consistency. Instead of preparing for selected appearances, Hanna will have to manage a full campaign, learn each circuit and compete regularly against drivers with the same goal of advancing to Formula 2.
What Hanna’s move means for Colombian motorsport
Juan Pablo Montoya remains the benchmark for Colombian achievement in Formula 1, with seven Grand Prix victories during his career with Williams and McLaren. More than two decades later, Hanna gives Colombian fans another young driver to follow on the path toward the sport’s highest level.
Hanna’s arrival also marks a notable return of Colombian representation to Ferrari’s junior development program. Contemporary coverage identified him as the first Hispanic American driver to join the academy since Mexican driver Sergio Perez, who was part of the program from 2010 to 2012.
For 2027, the immediate measure will be his performance in FIA Formula 3. A standout season would put him on course for Formula 2, but the demanding calendar will first test his ability to turn his junior experience into consistent weekly results.