F.A.T. International Reshapes Racing's Future
Ferdi Porsche Teams Up with Rob Smedley to Democratize Motorsport
If someone forwarded you this email, consider supporting independent coverage and analysis of the business of Formula 1.
Revolutions often arrive quietly.
F.A.T. International's latest venture, the FAT Karting League (FKL), makes its presence known not with the traditional roar of engines but with the purposeful whine of electric motors and the quiet confidence of its founders.
Ferdi Porsche, great-grandson of the legendary Ferdinand Porsche, sits in F.A.T.'s UK headquarters discussing the transformation of racing's talent pipeline. At 30, he carries his family's legacy and a vision for motorsport's future.
"Racing needs to evolve," Porsche explains. "My grandfather tested cars on the Grossglockner. My father raced at Le Mans. Now, we're creating paths for the next generation of drivers. The technology changes. The passion remains."
That evolution takes shape through FKL's radical approach to driver development. Traditional karting demands $250,000 per season from aspiring racers. FKL's model slashes entry costs to $5,000, maintaining a fleet of electric karts developed under the guidance of Formula 1 veteran Rob Smedley.
"These aren't typical electric karts," Smedley notes. His team engineered the power delivery to mirror combustion engines, ensuring skills translate seamlessly to traditional race cars. Each machine feeds constant telemetry to FKL's data systems, creating unprecedented insight into driver development.
The program's impact emerges in its demographics. Female participation reaches 35% across FKL events, dwarfing traditional racing's 5% figure. Talent surfaces from previously untapped communities, feeding directly into professional opportunities through FKL's Formula 4 scholarship program.
January 2025 marks FKL's expansion beyond its UK test bed. Two U.S. facilities launch the program's global vision, targeting 50 locations worldwide. The ambitious plan aims to connect one million young drivers to professional racing paths through the FAT World Cup championship.
For F.A.T. International, FKL represents another chapter in reimagining motorsport culture. The organization that revived ice racing in Zell am See and returned historic Porsches to Le Mans has built racing's foundation for decades.
In the end, this quiet revolution may reshape motorsport's future—not through nostalgia or tradition but through accessibility, technology, and raw talent. The next generation will take shape on electric power, data analytics, and equal opportunity, proving once again that racing's greatest innovations often emerge from its simplest truths.
Don’t know what to get the motorsport fan in your life? We’re making it easy. Check out our Holiday Gift Guide
I wish F.A.T all the best. But I don't like how you characterise traditional karting as costing £250,000 a year. Maybe you mean elite international factory team world championship karting -which represents a vanishingly small part of karting, and is certainly not traditional.
Karting is extremely accessible still, where individual drivers responsible for maintenance and sourcing of their own equipment can compete on whatever budget they can find, £5000 being perfectly fine. This means they also get to keep the kart, learn mechanical skills and self-reliance.
It might not be analogous to whichever political system you want to imbue with wholesomeness and fairness, be it democracy or communism, but since when has motor racing ever advertised fairness as it's virtue? Is Porsche in relentless pursuit of fairness, or advantage?