As one of only five drivers selected globally to test with Jaguar’s Formula E racing team in London and recently signing with Australian motorsport legend Marcos Ambrose, 20-year-old Xavier Henderson is on a fast track to motorsport success.
The Peppermint Grove resident has had a breakout rookie season in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, including finishing second outright in round two at Sydney Motorsport Park — his first time racing at the track and at night.
Formula E is the highest class open-wheel single-seater championship for electric vehicles and is aiming to rival Formula One. It is gaining traction in Australia, with Andrew Forrest recently buying the Penske Autosport team.
A WA Sporting Car Club member based at Wanneroo Raceway, Henderson is currently in London after being handpicked to test with the Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E team, which recently won the 2025-26 teams’ World Championship title.
“It’s amazing to have this kind of opportunity and it makes all the years of training and dedication worth it,” Henderson said.
“I have a lot to prove, still, but this is an incredible opportunity and one I’ve been dreaming about for years.”
The rookie has a swathe of legends guiding him including mentor Brett Lupton, a former race engineer who worked with Ayrton Senna and mentored a young Daniel Ricciardo, his father Michael Henderson, a former Formula Classic WA championship winner, and motorsport legend Marcos Ambrose, who recently became manager of the former John XXIII College student.
“In his rookie national year as a green driver, Xavier has shown some raw speed but importantly, he has maturity, intelligence and personality that will see him go far,” Ambrose said.
Henderson got his start in motorsport aged just five, when he began riding a 50cc kids motorbike, progressing to a 300cc motorbike in his early teens before following his father into four-wheel racing.
“I’ve been around motorsport since I was very young, obviously watching my dad who won 12 consecutive formula car championships when he was driving,” he said.
“It’s in my blood, for sure, and I’m just really excited about the opportunities that are opening up.
“I can’t wait to see where it takes me, and I’m looking forward to proving what I can do.”
Henderson’s brother and two sisters are all involved in motorsport but he is the only one who has taken it to the competitive level.
His father Michael, who flew to London with him for the Jaguar testing, said he had “great confidence” in Xavier’s driving and decision making, describing him as “calm and capable”.
“He’s such a calm person,” he said.
This was reflected in Henderson’s final race of the season, ending up at the front row of the grid at the Phillip Island Circuit, which his father said was “one of the fastest, most difficult circuits in Australia” and came amid torrential rain that eventually forced the cancellation of the event.
No matter the outcome of his Jaguar meeting, the future is looking bright for the rising star, who has secured international sponsors and been invited to join the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy Formula 3 series in New Zealand early next year.