Myers taking wings in Formula 4

As his nickname suggests, Jamaican driver William ‘Wings’ Myers is the latest local product to soar on to the international circuit.

The 22-year-old announced on February 28 that he was the latest addition to team Group A Racing, which will compete in the Formula 4 2020 United States Championship. The season is scheduled to begin next month.

Myers said that the opportunity to begin progression through the International Automobile Federation (FIA) formula car system was one he always hoped to attain since beginning his racing journey as an 11-year-old.

“I’m over the moon. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It’s something I think most karters want to do. To get the opportunity to do it is amazing and I’m very excited for the season coming up,” Myers told The Gleaner.

The American International School of Kingston (AISK) alumnus has enjoyed local and regional success, having become a two-time Jamaica Race Drivers Club class champion in 2016 and 2018. He won the 2019 Radical SR3 Caribbean Cup Championship in his debut season in 2019, and he owes all the experiences gained last year for shaping him for the recent step up in competition.

“I think it was good preparation. Definitely, racing last year, especially racing the Radical Cup, it’s a spec series just like Formula 4. So all the cars are identically the same and the competition is really close. So I think that it was a good stepping stone before going into Formula 4,” Myers said. “I think throughout that this whole process has made me more mature in my driving and in myself.”

Preparation for his first race in Atlanta has already started, and Myers knows that it will demand more of him to compete at this level.

“Making a mistake will be a lot more costly in F4 than in local races. That’s something that I need to focus on, basically being consistent throughout my whole race,” he said.

Myers hopes to replicate the achievements enjoyed in recent times by young Jamaican drivers overseas. Those achievements have been spearheaded by 21-year-old Fraser McConnell, who became the country’s first rally cross champion, and young Alex Powell, the first Caribbean driver to sign with a Formula 1 team, AMG Mercedes. Myers says that they have provided motivation for him to find similar glory.

“I think it’s more inspirational rather than pressure. Seeing them perform so well definitely inspires me to try and do the same and, basically, my plan is to do the same,” he said.

He added that he does not take for granted the role that McConnell, Powell and himself have in increasing the racing profile of the country and hopes to continue making lanes for other local drivers to broaden their horizons.

“It would be great to show our local racers that we do have the talent to compete internationally, and I think it will help grow the sport and help inspire the local drivers to give them a goal or a vision that not only do they have to race locally, they are good enough to go overseas and really try and make an impact, like what we are trying to do,” Myers said.