Teenage racer Jackson Culver has signed with Sydney-based AGI Sport to contest the entry-level class in this year’s Australian-based championship for Formula 4 cars.
Culver has worked his way up from Formula First and Formula Ford and is now eligible to race in the five-round AU4 Championship, raced at circuits in Sydney, Winton and Adelaide.
Now aged 14, Culver is eligible to race the first-generation Mygale F4 cars, first introduced into Australia in 2015 but retired in 2019, after Motorsport Australia agreed last year to allow the older cars back to support the current AU4 Championship, with a lowered entry age of 14 years. Drivers must be at least 15 years old to drive the newer-generation F4 cars.
“I’m really looking forward to a faster and more technical car. It’ll be hard, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge, and I definitely want to be running at the front,” said Culver.
The series will visit both The Bend in Adelaide and Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP) twice, with the opening round in May at Winton Raceway, Victoria.
The Rangiora High School student will get his first taste of Formula 4 machinery with a test at SMP on March 12, a track he’s familiar with but only on his race simulator.
“I’ve done a lot of sim testing on both layouts at Sydney, but haven’t got anything for The Bend [Adelaide], which looks quite fun and fast.”
Culver will race for multiple championship-winning team AG1 Sport, which is also the promoter and is responsible for the reemergence of an F4-based series.
“It’s great to have Jackson Culver onboard for AU4 in 2026. The last time a Kiwi driver came over to Australia for Formula 4 was in 2017, when a young Liam Lawson debuted and finished 2nd. Grant McDonald looked after Liam back then and now Jackson, so we’re expecting big things from him this season!” quipped Adam Gotch, Managing Director of AGI Sport.
Most recently, Culver has been racing and developing a Ray GR20 Formula Ford. Early-season problems delayed a planned racing campaign this season. Lots of development testing has honed his feedback skills and technical understanding, before progressing to an entry-level wings-and-slick car.
“I’m sad we didn’t get to put that car [Formula Ford] up to podium spots, but I learnt a huge amount about the car and how it works. Even with not being able to do a full series, it was still valuable for me to go through, and a big step for me personally.”
“If you go back to the start of the process and to where we are now, you’d see quite a big step forward in both the car and me. It’s a shame it hasn’t carried on and moved forward to where we wanted it to be, but that’s racing, and sometimes that’s how it has to be.”
Culver believes the focus on testing and developing rather than racing has helped develop a strength he sees as valuable for when he steps up to AU4.
“Because of how much we’ve had to do with the Formula Ford and the feedback I’ve had to give back to try and make the car go faster, I think that’s going to help me figure out the car a lot faster than maybe some other drivers.
“If I didn’t have to put all that time and effort into the car, I wouldn’t have developed my feedback and understanding of asking for a change and then seeing it actually works.”
The car Culver will drive is the same one that gave Liam Lawson his first international experience in 2017, when he finished as vice-champion of the Australian F4 championship before heading to Europe.
These Gen 1 cars were retired from competition in 2019, when the series ended. In 2024, the series was revived under the AU4 Championship banner using the current internationally recognised F4 cars. The Gen 1 cars were added last year to bolster the grids and provide a cost-effective entry-level option with a lower driver age limit.
2026 AU4 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR
- 01-03 May Winton Raceway
- 30-31 May Sydney Motorsport Park
- 17-19 July The Bend Motorsport Park, Adelaide (West layout)
- 21-23 August The Bend Motorsport Park, Adelaide (International layout)
- 11-13 September Sydney Motorsport Park (GP Circuit)
Header Image: MoMac
