Under Rodin Motorsport’s ‘Formula Ford to Formula 1’ pathway, the New Zealand Formula Ford champion receives a test with the team, while a second opportunity is offered to a driver of the team’s choosing.
Aged just 15 and 13 respectively, Manson and Eskandari-Marandi finished first and second in the standings.
Having caught the attention of the junior formulae outfit, the pair were invited to Rodin’s manufacturing and testing facility at Mt Lyford, New Zealand for a two-day evaluation.
Both drivers then earned a trip to the team’s UK headquarters, where they will each be fully immersed in Rodin’s program, culminating in the F4 test in early August.
While Manson will be eligible for a 2027 British F4 seat, Eskandari-Marandi will still be too young for consideration, therefore his testing program will focus purely on development.
“Marco and Sebastian consistently performed at a high level throughout the programme and stood out as two drivers capable of benefiting from the exposure to international competition,” said Emma Duncan, Rodin managing director.
“Their selection for the UK test reflects not only their speed but also their attitude, work ethic and long-term development potential.
“The objective of taking both drivers to the UK is to expose them to a genuine international motorsport environment and benchmark them against the standard required to compete in the British Formula 4 championship.”
Manson has experience with Formula 4 machinery and currently leads the AU4 championship after two rounds.
The young Kiwi noted the subtle differences between his AU4 car and Rodin’s machinery, particularly at the team’s NZ test facility.
“I’m quite excited for what’s to come in Pembrey and excited to drive the F4 car with the actual Rodin Motorsport team,” said Manson.
“It’s like driving anything, same-same but different. The cars are similar but you can notice the little differences in every car.
“Making sure the last 10 percent is perfect is what’s most important being such a fast and flowing track. There’s only a small difference everyone can be and finding a tenth is really hard.”
Eskandari-Marandi began racing in New Zealand due to the lower entry age of 12 years old compared to 14 in his native Australia.
“We found out we could do the New Zealand Formula Ford championship and then this whole Rodin opportunity came about, so it’s been a pretty quick step up but I feel like I’ve been adapting to it quite well,” said Eskandari-Marandi.
“The Formula 4 with the wings-and-slicks is a lot better through the faster corners, and being an open diff like the Formula Ford, you have to try and minimise the wheelspin off the slower corners, so that’s something I was quite familiar with.
“But then the wings-and-slicks were quite hard to get used to, but I eventually towards the last day got used to it.”
The test at Pembrey in Wales will benchmark the drivers against the standard of current British F4 competitors, while also evaluating the drivers’ feedback, consistency, and professionalism among others.
Both drivers will spend time at Rodin’s Driver Performance Centre, providing valuable insight into the preparation required to compete in Europe.
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