Norris and Leclerc Reflect on Karting's Value as FIA Marks 70 Years

Karting turns 70 this week, and the FIA is marking the anniversary around this weekend's Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship at La Conca in southern Italy, where nearly 200 drivers in the OK and Junior classes will chase the title Lando Norris won back in 2014. The reigning F1 champion and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc both used the moment to explain what the discipline still gives a young driver.

Why it matters:

Karting is the last genuinely open door on motor sport's ladder, and the FIA is trying to keep it that way. Its Global Karting Plan, launched in 2024, is built on an Arrive and Drive format using identical, loaned equipment. It cuts competition costs by two-thirds against standard international events and has already produced dedicated championships in Asia-Pacific, South America and Europe.

The details:

• The sport started in California, where Art Ingles and Lou Borelli bolted a 2.5hp lawnmower engine to a steel tube chassis. The FIA set up its International Karting Commission in 1962; the first world championship followed in 1964.
• Alain Prost was the first karting graduate to take an F1 title, while François Goldstein's five world championships and Mike Wilson's six set the early benchmark.
• "It's probably key if you want to get to Formula 1 nowadays is to start early and in karting," said Norris, the 2014 KF world champion. "I miss the karting days."
• Leclerc, the 2011 Academy Trophy winner, pointed to the friendships: "It's cool when I look at the grid today, that many of us were fighting in karting 15 or 20 years ago... There wasn't much marketing or media, just racing."

What's next:

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem framed the anniversary as a legacy question, saying the plan exists to make karting "more affordable, accessible and inclusive" so talent from every corner of the world gets a genuine chance to compete.