Jesse Lacey traveled halfway around the world to compete in Formula 4 United States Championship’s (F4 U.S.) 2023 season. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, the 17-year-old was one of eight drivers to take the top step of the podium this season after a breakthrough performance in Round 15 at VIRginia International Raceway. Throughout the course of 2023, Lacey drove his No. 16 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4 to five podiums and 16 top-10 finishes.
Where are you from and what's your favorite thing about where you're from?
Jesse Lacey (JL): “I'm from Melbourne, Australia. We have pretty cool animals down there. We have kangaroos, koalas, crocodiles; most people say we've got big spiders, and yeah, we do. Melbourne's cool.”
When did you decide that you wanted to race and what was your path to get to F4 U.S.?
JL: “My dad raced sprint cars, so I went out to a track called Avalon in Melbourne and drove around the dirt track in a go-kart. I loved that. Then, I did a couple races on dirt. We went past a track in Melbourne called Todd Road. I decided that I wanted to drive on the road, so we went down there and I loved it. Since then, I've raced all around the world, in Europe, all throughout Australia, and then we decided to step up to F4 in America.”
Who's your racing idol and what makes you look up to them?
JL: “Lewis Hamilton. In my opinion, he's the best in the world. I just love his dedication and the effort he puts into everything.”
If you could only drive one racetrack for the rest of your life, which track would you want it to be?
JL: “That’s tough. I love Abu Dhabi—that track is nice—and COTA, that’s a really nice track, also. The first sector at COTA has the chicanes and the esses, which is really cool, but then you have that really long back straight. Going into the final sector, you have the slowest part of the track, which is really nice with like a double hairpin. Abu Dhabi is nice also. That track has a bit of everything—it’s fast flowing, but it has a hairpin, too.”
What's the one racetrack that you dream of racing on the most?
JL: “Monaco, for sure. It’s the track where if you win there, you're in the history books forever.”
Tell me about one race that sticks out to you from your career. It could either be maybe your best race or just one that you’ll always remember for whatever reason.
JL: “That would have to be my first ever Formula 4 race win at VIRginia International Raceway. It was a hard start to the weekend, not getting the best results in Race 1 and 2, but we knew we had the pace starting from the pole in Race 3. I was able to pull away at the start, and with about three minutes to go, a safety car came out. We were lucky enough to hold on to win it.”
