F1 is the dream for 11-year-old world champion

Not many 11-year-olds can claim to be a world champion but Josh Cooke can - in the sport of karting.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, the racer from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, won the Micro Max class (age eight to 11) at the RMC Grand Finals, the Rotax World Championship event in October.

"It feels amazing," said Josh, who represented Team UK in Sarno, Italy. "It is a massive privilege and worth all the sacrifice."

He and his father Oliver Cooke, 42, spend up to 35 weeks a year racing in the UK and Europe.

"I love being his part-time kart mechanic, alongside my day job as a solutions engineer. I would not change it for the world," Mr Cooke said.

Josh was inspired to take up karting aged six by YouTube clips of past Formula 1 championships and his hero Hamilton, a former karter, winning world titles.

"I clicked on a link and saw him racing in a go-kart when he was young at Rye House and fancied a go. That is how it all started," he said.

"I love all the challenges, competing in the wet and the dry and against other people. But most of all, the speed."

His kart can reach speeds up to 70mph (113km/h). His driving position is an inch (2.5cm) off the ground.

"It does not seem that quick when you are behind the wheel. But when you are [watching] off track, it looks really fast. It is really fun to drive," he said.

Josh won his world title last year, aged just 10.

Last season proved to be a breakthrough year for the young racer.

He also won the British Open title in March and the Rotax Max Challenge International Trophy, a five-day karting event held at the world-famous Le Mans circuit in France.

It is one of the biggest open events on the calendar, featuring 318 drivers from 40 different countries in six race classes. Josh again won in the Micro Max class.

"His aim last year was simply to qualify for the Grand Finals," his father said. "But to go on and win it was way beyond all our expectations.

"We travel vast distances to race. We give up a huge amount of time. I'd probably struggle to do it if I didn't love it, and my son.

"Josh is very resilient, especially when things go wrong. He has the ability to drive back through the order and put in consistent lap times within fractions of a second of each other. It is probably what stands him apart."

This year, Josh moves up an age category to race against more experienced drivers. Over the next two or three years, he will start thinking about racing in cars and making the transition into single-seaters.

His father, who is not from a racing background, said it was scary to think his son might start testing in a simulator next year.

He is seeking advice from experts in the industry on the best pathway forward.

Josh has ambitions to reach the top. "I want to be one of the best drivers in England; maybe even the world. Racing in Formula 1 is my dream," he said.

But first this year, he hopes to retain his karting world title.

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