In the space of just three years, Jesse Carrasquedo has made a name for himself in the discipline that has produced so many Formula 1 drivers over the last few decades. Anyone familiar with karting knows how difficult it is to achieve a good result in the OK category at just 15 years of age, against drivers who are all more experienced.

Growing Maturity

"The various practice sessions leading up to the race were really positive," commented Jesse. "We found a great set-up for my Parolin-TM package, which allowed me to set the second fastest time in my group on Friday morning. With the drivers split into four groups, this put me in the top 10 in the world. I had a great feeling with my equipment. Of course, official Qualifying is never that easy: you have to find the best moment to exploit the efficiency of the tyres, without being hindered by another driver on a fast lap, or making any mistakes."

Jesse eventually set the 35th fastest time out of a field of 74 drivers. In the Qualifying Heats, the young Mexican was again very strong. "The first heat was difficult, I lost a lot of places on the first lap. But after that I regularly gained positions, especially in my 2nd and 4th heats where I improved by five places each time. Finally, I managed to qualify for the Final, which was my number one goal when I arrived in Spain."

On Sunday afternoon, light rain was on the cards. "Wet conditions and driving on treaded tyres is not my favourite thing. In addition, the first lap of the Final produced some intense duels and I dropped back a few places on this track with precarious grip. I was only 35th on the first lap, but I ended up in 26th place at the finish, which is still an excellent performance considering that this was my very first season in OK. My karting career is now over and I will now concentrate on the next stage of my career which will be Formula 4, again in Europe. For all those who follow my performance, starting with my compatriot and famous F1 driver Sergio "Checo" Perez, I will give my best."

About Jesse

Born on 27th April, 2007, Jesse Carrasquedo Jr is today one of the great Mexican hopes. Already behind the wheel of a kart at the age of six, the discipline that he started for fun quickly became a passion. Since then, he has been devoted 100% with motivation, work and determination to reaching his ultimate goal: Formula 1.

Winner of several karting events on the American continent, Jesse has progressed a lot thanks to Sergio Perez's racing school located in Guadalajara and the team of Antonio Perez, the brother of the famous driver. The Mexican didn't hesitate to come to live in Europe to compete against the best karting hopefuls. Competing in Mini in 2017 and 2018, then in Junior in 2019 and 2020, this promising driver finished 5th in the Rok Cup International Superfinal in Italy last year at the end of a season that was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now 14 years old and a member of the official Parolin Motorsport team, in 2021, Jesse has moved up from Junior to OK, the category before ascending to single-seaters. The young Mexican is preparing his debut in Formula 4 racing very seriously. Closely followed by Red Bull Racing Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez, he is training intensively with the prestigious Campos Racing academy, which has produced drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Luca Di Grassi and Sergio Perez. He benefits from the advice of a driver trained by Adrian Campos, Marc Gené, the former F1 driver, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and still a test driver for Ferrari.