F1 Scholarship ready to go.

The innovative F1 Scholarship designed to take a driver all the way to contemporary Formula One competition on talent alone is about to officially launch it's search for the star of the future.

Scholarship organisers will be assessing hopefuls from all over the world at a UK venue in October and November this year, and entries are being accepted from drivers at all levels, from novices to seasoned veterans.

"Potential is what counts, and that can be spotted in a novice just as easily as it can in an experienced driver," explained organiser David Fleming.

The format of the scheme has changed slightly since it was first announced in February this year. The winning driver will compete in British Formula Renault in 2004 and then, if successful, will get a top drive in the British Formula Three Championship in 2005. Should they perform as expected, the driver will get a management contract and a guaranteed test with a current Formula One team with the aim of getting them a full-time drive in the top flight.

"This is a real scholarship with a real chance of making it to F1," said ex-WilliamsF1 man Fleming, "If the winning driver delivers, so will we!

"We had been relying on the Renault F1 test for winning the Formula Renault V6 title. However, after a lot of work, we can now confirm that our driver will compete in the Championship class of the 2005 British Formula Three Championship and will then get a test in F1. That's guaranteed! They don't necessarily have to win the British F3 title either."

The cost of entry is ?2000 - or $3000 - but Fleming insists that that amount constitutes very little for a driver hoping to climb the racing ladder to the grand prix scene.

"It's not super cheap," he admitted, "but it might be the best money you've ever spent. We couldn't make it any cheaper and, considering what we have to do behind the scenes to make all this happen, it's great value!

"It's cheaper than a lot of racing school courses and, at worst, you'll learn a lot about yourself and raise your profile significantly."

As a bonus, the first 100 drivers to sign up will receive media and PR services to the value of $3000 to help them raise a budget for 2004 - unless, of course, one of them wins the Scholarship, in which case the 'reward' could be much higher.

Entries are now being taken, and drivers requiring an application form should send their details to: info@f1scholarship.com