Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc reflect on karting roots as FIA marks 70th anniversary

Karting celebrates its 70th anniversary this week, with the FIA using the build-up to the 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship to reflect on a discipline that has become the foundation of modern motor sport.

The sport traces its roots to California, where Art Ingles and Lou Borelli built the first kart by fitting a 2.5 horsepower lawnmower engine to a steel tube chassis. What began as a way of getting around paddocks at car races grew into a recreational pastime in American car parks by the late 1950s, before spreading to Europe and prompting the FIA to establish the International Karting Commission in 1962.

The first Karting World Championship followed in 1964, and the sport has since produced some of motor racing's biggest names. 

François Goldstein won five world titles between 1969 and 1975, a record later broken by Mike Wilson's six championships in the 1980s. Alain Prost became the first of many karting graduates to go on and win the Formula 1 drivers' title.

This weekend's World Championship for OK and Junior categories takes place at La Conca in southern Italy, with nearly 200 drivers chasing the title won by reigning F1 champion Lando Norris in 2014.

The FIA launched its Global Karting Plan in 2024 to make the sport more affordable and accessible, centred on an Arrive and Drive format in which all competitors race identical, loaned equipment.

The approach cuts competition costs by two-thirds compared with standard international events and has already spawned dedicated championships in Asia-Pacific, South America and Europe.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the anniversary was a chance to acknowledge karting's role in shaping the sport's biggest stars.

"As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of karting, we recognise a legacy that has helped shape generations of racing talent and produced many of the legends who have gone on to achieve success at the highest levels of our sport," said Ben Sulayem.

"Through the FIA Global Karting Plan, we are helping to secure the next 70 years of karting by making it more affordable, accessible and inclusive, so that talented young drivers from every corner of the world have the opportunity to compete and fulfil their potential."

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Norris - 'I miss the karting days'

Norris, the 2014 FIA Karting KF champion, said karting remains the essential grounding for any aspiring F1 driver.

"[Karting is where you] learn how to drive; you learn how to feel what is right, what is wrong, all those things that set you up to be an understanding driver and how to drive quickly, so it's very important," said Norris.

"It's probably key if you want to get to Formula 1 nowadays is to start early and in karting. It’s a lot of fun.

"I think everyone enjoys the karting days a lot and misses them and just the ease and socialness- it’s just a lot more chilled than it is in proper racing now in cars, but they were good days. I miss the karting days.”

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who won the FIA Karting Academy Trophy in 2011, said the bonds formed on the karting circuit have carried through into F1.

“[Karting] is where you learn all the basics, which is to start working with the team, start thinking about the set-up, overtaking, the way you've got to approach a race and, eventually, also how to deal with pressure when it matters most in qualifying – and a few incidents!," said Leclerc.

“It's cool as well to see, when I look at the grid today, that many of us were fighting in karting 15 or 20 years ago. It's very special to find all of us now in Formula One and fighting for much bigger things.

"The passion is still the same, and the motivation to win is still the same. These were the best days. There wasn't much marketing or media, just racing, and I think that's what we enjoyed most. These were great times."