Formula One (F1) is arguably the highest level of motorsports globally. While no Jamaican has reached that level, young Ashley Haase is trying to make the right turns to achieve that goal.

The 13-year-old, who was born in England, has been making waves in karting as he’s currently ranked in the top six in the United Kingdom in the Honda Cadet 200 class and the Junior ProKart class. As the youngest driver in the category, he is also in the top 35 of the Junior x30 class.

Starting at age six, Haase realised that this was the direction he wanted to pursue after having a lack of interest in other sports.

“I didn’t like doing much of the more physical sports like football, rugby, or anything like that,” Haase told the Jamaica Observer. “I tried tennis, but I didn’t like it that much. But we did go to bumper karts at fairs so then my dad took me go-karting on tracks and I liked it a lot. We carried on doing it until my dad got me a kart for myself that I could drive professionally, and it just grew from there.”

However, his success in the field wasn’t a walk in the park as his father Oliver had to go to extreme lengths to understand the workings of a sport with which he was unfamiliar.

“There wasn’t much online to guide you on what to do next,” Oliver said. “There was no real process that someone had written down somewhere. It’s all very hidden and you have to figure it out yourself, and the ones who know and experienced, they don’t want to give it away because it invites more competition.

“Even when we did start, in his first year we had three different chassis that we tried, because we didn’t know what would be the best or what would suit him, and no one would give us advice, and trying to get help was quite tricky.”

Karting is also an expensive sport and Haase, who attended Munro College, had to make sacrifices for his son’s dreams.

“I bought a second-hand kart for a £1000 pounds ($205,000), and at that time it was expensive. Six to nine months down the line, I was buying a kart for £4,500 ($923,000). I remember I bought an engine for £7,000 ($1.4 million) and it was ridiculous.

“You have to throw mad money at it, and it’s money that I don’t have like that. There are parents that just turn up in Ferraris and Maseratis and fly in helicopters. My little few thousands is nothing, and I’m struggling.”

Young Haase, though, has been making do with the little he’s been given. In 2023, he won two major championships, including the Shennington Club Championship, finished second in the London Cup, and had top five finishes in the prestigious Ultimate Karting Championships.

He says his challenges and his Jamaican heritage are pushing him to be greater.

“It motivates me a lot, because being the only Jamaican driver on the grid is special,” Ashley said. “It keeps me wanting to do it more, because the other kids all have lots of stuff and they’re all mainly from England and Britain and have lots more experience.”

Haase is expected to get more financial support after recently signing a partnership with United Kingdom-based Jamaica Patty Co.

Oliver believes his son can become one of the best in Europe with more backing.

“Those results you see are without training,” Oliver said. “We’ll do training on Friday then race Saturday and Sunday, and that’s it. I always say to people that if we had the money like those rich kids and go twice a week every week training, we’d be killing it, because he just needs time and practice and it grows you.

“If we’re driving with a second-hand chassis and driving with an engine that’s not the best in the market, imagine if we get a brand new chassis and a new high-spec engine, he will easily be in the top 10 in the second year. For us to be able to do that on behalf of Jamaica is really special.

With the aim of competing at the FIA Karting Academy, an international kart racing competition organised by the world’s governing body, Ashley says he’s dreaming of reaching new heights in hopes of getting to F1.

“I just want to practice every day and give my hardest every race to try and get to where I want to be and make my sponsors and family proud,” Ashley said. “I’d want to go to the FIA Karting Academy then hopefully win the British Championships in a few years. Then move into the European Championships and the World Championships then hopefully get moved up to Formula Four to get to Formula 1 eventually.”

Oliver says he wants to push Jamaica’s brand even further and inspire the next generation.

“We looked at the FIA Karting Academy that they have every year in Europe,” he said. “They allow one representative from a country, and it’s 51 entries and Jamaica has none. That’s when I decided we need to be doing this the right way and it needs to come from something deeper.

“My heart is Jamaican; I can’t hide it. So I said we’ll launch the full way and now we’re brandishing the colours, we’re putting it out there that we’re not coming to fit in but to stand out and let everyone know that we are here and have talent. For all the kids that are in Jamaica that need that help to get out, we want to be able to pioneer a way for them.”