A Loughrea teenager is in the fast lane to success in motorsport with his eyes firmly fixed on competing in Formula 1.

Alex O’Grady is just 16 but has dedicated over a decade to racing, starting out in carting when he’d just turned five.

He’s now competing in Formula 4 in Britain and fresh from success in the most recent round of GB4, where he finished on top of the podium at Oulton Park, Alex says his love for the sport continues to grow.

“I’ve always loved it, since I got into it,” says the St Brigid’s College, Loughrea, student.

“It’s what I’ve always done. It’s always been racing — I’ve never played any other sports. I want to make a career out of it.”

A determined Alex says he can trace his passion for racing back to his fourth birthday, in 2014, when he got his first cart.

“I started racing when I’d just turned five, in bambino racing. My dad, Colm, was a racing driver. He did rallying and KZ carting.

“In 2015, I moved up to cadets and I raced in the cadet class for about five years, until I was 11. I had a lot of success in that. I won the Irish National Championship in 2018, when I was nine. I became the youngest ever champion,” says Alex.

It was in 2019 when he started racing in the UK, securing several top-five finishes and booking himself a place at the World Finals in Le Mans, where he took first place.

The dream is Formula 1, says Alex, and he’s determined to get there — and while it’s a long road, he’s relishing the journey.

“When I was 13, I tested a Formula 4 car, which was very young to do it. Then I started racing last year.

“To make it to Formula 1 would be very special. Usually, you do a couple of years in Formula 4 and then you want to move to F3 level, then F2 and finally F1. This year, I’m racing in Formula 4 in Britian. I did a year, last year, in the French Formula 4 Championship,” he says.

Alex says he’s had huge support from family and, in particular, his dad Colm who travels to every race with him.

The commitment is huge, travelling regularly to the UK for races which is a costly exercise.

He has two sponsors — the Moyne Roberts Group and The Beach Days Bar on Inishbofin. But he needs more.

“We’re always open to new sponsorship,” he says.

“The goal is always to have fun so you work hard to be the best driver you can be. But you can be as good a driver as you want, if you can’t find the sponsorship you need, it’s very difficult to go forward.”

Training involves a lot of time spent on an at-home simulator, explains Alex, and there are opportunities to train on the tracks ahead of races.

“I have signed for a team, Kevin Mills Racing — KMR Sport — and we do all the testing with them. I don’t do much testing because of the budget we have, but I usually get two test days before racing, on the Thursday and Friday. You have qualifying on the Saturday and, on Sunday, two races,” he says.

Physical fitness is also required, so there’s plenty of time spent in the gym too.

“You have to be in the gym quite a bit because, even if it doesn’t look like it, these cars are quite physical to drive. You’re taking some corners at over 160km/h. they have a top speed of 240km/h, so they are really powerful and grippy cars.

“When I started driving them, I felt the impact but less now that I’m at a better level of fitness,” says Alex.

For those looking at motor racing, it often seems like a terrifying experience — the risk of crashing never too far away. But that rarely enters Alex’s head.

“When you’re driving, it never really crosses your mind — crashing. The adrenalin is flowing and you’re focused on what you need to do. Sitting behind the wheel feels normal to me,” he laughs.

It’s a road less travelled, and most of Alex’s schoolmates are into more traditional sports, but that has never deterred him.

“I’ve some friends who are big into F1. But a lot of people don’t understand how it works, or the financial cost. When I tell, them, some of them are wondering why you would do it.

“But I enjoy it so much,” he says.

Next on Alex’s schedule is Round 4 of GB4 at Snetterton.

“I’m really looking forward to that. At the moment, we’re sixth in the points overall and I want to build on that success at Oulton.

“The champion gets £50,000 and that would go towards an F3 drive next year,” he says.

Pictured: Champ: Alex O’Grady on top of the GB4 podium at Oulton Park.