Kenya's Shane Chandaria shines in India, secures coveted seat in French F4
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 18.11.25. | 14:41
With two rounds to spare in the Indian series, Shane is leading the championship with a commanding 12-point lead
Kenya's young racing sensation, Shane Chandaria, is making waves once again.
The 15-year-old's impressive performance in the Indian Championships has earned him a coveted seat in the prestigious French F4 series, where only 10 spots are reserved for foreign drivers.
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With two rounds to spare in the Indian series, Shane is leading the championship with a commanding 12-point lead.
His consistency has been remarkable, having qualified fastest in four consecutive rounds.
This impressive feat has seen him notch up four podiums and record three fastest laps this season, a testament to his exceptional driving skills.
Chandaria’s dream is to become the first ever from the country to grace Formula 1, following a dream born nine years ago, at a friend’s birthday party at the age of six, where he had his first go at a go-kart.
Having had a soft spot for cars for the longest time, the teenager took to go-karts like a fish to water.
Within no time, he was topping the leaderboard at various competitions, the fire within him fueling his success on the wheel.
The next stopover in his journey to Formula 1 was in the United Kingdom (UK), where he took his go-kart career to the next level.
The youngster admits moving was akin to a small fish jumping into the ocean, where he had to compete against more established drivers.
Nonetheless, he concedes it was just what the doctor ordered, a baptism by fire that brought the best out of him.
“I moved to the UK at 12, to try and race there because I wanted a new experience, a new challenge. And the racing in the UK is a lot bigger than it is in Kenya. I knew that is the place to go if I wanted to grow,” he reveals in an interview with Capital Sport, adding that his parents were not on the same page, with his mother skeptical as she felt her son’s education could be derailed by the pursuit of a Formula 1 dream.
The solution: an online school, based out of the US, that lets him race and do schooling at the same time, allowing him to go and progress further in his motorsport.
After his stint in the UK, it was time for Chandaria to pack his bags to journey on to his next destination, India.
It was an idea stumbled on by his father and involved a brief stopover in France.
“I was racing in the UK this February, and my dad gave me a call. He had found a competition that allowed you to win a spot in Formula 4, which we were thinking of going to next year. So, we thought we would give it a try. In June this year, we started testing Formula 4 in France, and I was quite quick,” he recounts.
Chandaria adds, “The coaches helped me improve a lot, and then we went to the shootout. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the finals. I did not win the seat, but I showed the talent I had, so we decided to go ahead with the Indian Championship because it was the easiest.”
As a Formula 4 driver, Chandaria reveals that it has only added more wood to the fire in his heart that yearns to grace Formula 1. In his words, Formula 4 is a foreshadowing of Formula 1.
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