Feature
Her Story So Far: Courtney Crone on her path to F1 ACADEMY and why she’s seizing every opportunity that arises
For Courtney Crone, there’s no feeling quite like getting behind the wheel and fuelling her competitive spirit. Over the years, the American racer has sampled many different types of machinery, whether it’s on two wheels or four, open-wheel and closed-wheel racing.
As she takes on her rookie F1 ACADEMY campaign, Crone sat down with us to reflect on how her racing story began and how several key moments across her journey have shaped the well-rounded driver she’s become.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
“Every day, my dad would have me on a motorcycle outside of our house, and I would say those are my earliest memories of my life in general. It was something I looked forward to doing every single day.
“I dabbled back and forth between two and four wheels quite a bit up until I was about 12 years old. That was when I stopped racing Speedway motorcycles and completely focused on, at that time, Sprint Car racing. At that point, the bikes were going to kind of outgrow me because I was quite small and they were starting to get really heavy and I was racing a 250cc Speedway motorcycle. I made the decision early to get off the bikes and just focus fully on car racing.
“My favourite part about actually racing and what drove me to love is just the competition aspect of it. I love racing against other people and not only in racing, but in life in general I’m pretty competitive in every sport I do.”
JUNIOR SPEEDWAY
“In North America, they had created a huge invitational race (the Monster Energy World Invitational) where they brought a lot of professional Speedway riders over from Europe. I was racing Junior Speedway at the time and I won the junior race that they had.
“There were thousands and thousands of fans and it was the first time I had won a race in front of a huge crowd of people. Being 11 years old, that was a huge moment for me and I thought it was the coolest thing in the whole world.
READ MORE: Champions of the Future Academy Round 3 Recap: Hunting down podiums
“(The race) was really fun because it was a two-day event — generally a Speedway event is kind of like a one night show. Just having people come from all over the country for a Speedway motorcycle race was unheard of because Speedway is such a small sport in America, not like it is over in Europe. It was just special because I didn’t realise that many people were that interested in Speedway in America.
“I was always very confident on a motorcycle, especially when racing Speedway. I won a lot of championships and races when I was on the bikes, that definitely boosted my confidence a little bit. I always enjoyed my time on bikes.”
USAC Midgets
“My third moment would probably be when I was racing a USAC Midget at Calistoga Speedway in California for two reasons. One, because I still to this day think that Calistoga Speedway is the coolest race track in the world even though it’s not a road race course. For racing Midget dirt cars on a half-mile track, it’s quite awesome.
“That was a big one because a lot of the national drivers came out and raced that race. There were some big names and I led a few laps. Ultimately, unfortunately the car broke but I would say it was definitely the biggest race I have ever led in my career for sure.
“They’re hard to explain, but Midget race cars run on dirt and pavement ovals — this race in particular was on dirt. They’re a lightweight chassis of about 1000lbs with a four cylinder super-fast engine. I don’t like to describe them this way, but a lot of people would describe them as kind of looking like a dune buggy, but they don’t really. You just have to look it up! They’re really fun to drive.
“The racing is very, very tight, very close. No mirrors or anything on those cars so you have to learn to really be precise with your moves. I would say the actual driving technique is absolutely nothing like you do in formula cars, but as for racecraft and precision, it was a great learning tool for me.”
Racing the night before the Indy500
“When I raced the night before the 500 in a pavement Midget. Before the Indy500, they have a race at a track a couple of miles away from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where they do Midget and Sprint cars. Generally, back in the older days, the way you got to IndyCar was through Midgets and Sprint cars. It’s not quite that way anymore but that’s what it used to be, so this was a very big nostalgic race that they brought back in 2020.
“I went and did it in 2020 and we ran really good — we were top three in all practices and we qualified third. In the race, I had the second fastest lap but unfortunately did not win it. It was my first national pavement Midget race and we did really good against some really good guys. The whole experience of that was one of the most fun moments I’ve ever had in a race car so it was really a fun couple of months we got to prepare and do that race.
“There’s no other feeling like it. I think that’s why we generally all chase this lifestyle. Sometimes you can find yourself coming to the racetrack and maybe getting a little anxious, maybe you’re a little excited — depends on the kind of person you are. Generally, once you strap in that car, the feeling you get when you’re driving, there’s nothing else like it. I think most drivers and mechanics and engineers would agree that some of the best memories are made off the track in your career and lifetime. Just having a good group of people around you is really important.”
JOINING F1 ACADEMY
“Having a home race in Miami was quite cool — we haven’t quite got to Vegas yet! I would say so far this season, it would be in China. First race of the year, I finished P8, crossed the line P8. Unfortunately, I got a bit of a penalty.
“Just getting that first race out of the way, those kind of first race of the season jitters. Being able to capitalise on the race and being able to say I’ve raced in China is awesome — I never ever thought I’d get to say that in my career. That was a big starting point for me, probably for the rest of my career, that first race in China.
“Not every race has been super easy for us, but I think we’re finally starting to find our stride here for myself and ART Grand Prix. I'm just really trying to focus on making this year as fun as possible, taking advantage of all of the opportunities that are given to me, and just learning as much as I possibly can to bring on for the future.
“Obviously F1 racing is globally probably at its biggest right now, just through media and all the fans and all that. To be able to drive in front of sellout crowds at a Formula 1 weekend, you’ll never get that experience. There’s only a very few amount of people that get to do that in their lifetime, so I just feel super fortunate. I guess I take advantage of it and enjoy every moment.”