In the hot Louisiana sun of New Orleans’s NOLA Motorsports Park, 16-year-old F4 driver Michael Costello sits at the front of the grid, ready to begin his first-ever race in the series from pole position.

Three things propelled his road from northeast karting star to open-wheel racing: a dentist, a dream, and a move to Florida.

The dentist, Michael’s father, John, was a crucial figure at the start of Michael’s racing career. He was driving up and down the east coast to take Michael to his first races ever since he was summer.

“(My parents) always support me as much as they have to,” Michael Costello said. “They love what I do, so it’s just awesome.”

The dream was to make it to IndyCar. To do that, Michael Costello traveled the country over the next eight years, racking up wins and championships wherever he went.

After appearing in the SuperKarts USA SuperNationals in 2018 and 2019, driving for Team Benik, the move to open-wheel cars was approaching faster and faster.

With most open-wheel opportunities in the south and the Costello family located in the Northeast, it would have been more difficult for Michael Costello to make the next step if they stayed in Pennsylvania.

So, to further his racing career, Michael Costello and his family packed their bags and moved 1,300 miles to Naples, Florida. The move put the family near Homestead-Miami Speedway, a place that would define the start of Michael Costello’s open-wheel career.

“Trying to get (to Florida) so I could go to Homestead for karting,” Michael Costello said. “Just to keep my physical (ability) up and then have time for testing and stuff like that.”

Michael Costello, at Homestead-Miami, got the chance to get behind the wheel of a USF2000 car for the first time in early 2022. His karting team, Team Benik, owned two cars and allowed him to drive one of the USF2000 cars to get a taste of the switch to open-wheel racing.

Despite being a confident winner in karting, he stepped in the car for the first time and immediately felt nervous.

“I was like, ‘I don’t want to crash,’ I don’t want to do any of that,” Michael Costello said. “I started to get more comfortable over time. I started to be like, ‘Okay, I’m a racecar driver.’”

Michael Costello sat through the limited seat time with an attitude of learning as much as possible, trying to get on the level of his competitors with his single-lap pace. That mentality led to the qualifying speed that set him apart from other drivers in F4 and landed him on pole for the first race in New Orleans.

Of all the single-seater series in the United States, the F4 Championship may be the one where qualifying matters the most. In his first F4 race, 31 cars lined up on the grid. Safety cars are frequent in the series, and due to the timed nature of the races, Michael Costello said that not qualifying well leaves you disadvantaged when one does come out.

“When you qualify in the front, you have a lot higher of a chance of being able to win,” Michael Costello said. “You’re always right there, and you’re always going to fight.”

Michael Costello’s car in New Orleans, with its black and blue paint scheme, is similar to other drivers on the track. It is the signature paint scheme of Jay Howard Driver Development, which fielded the most entries in New Orleans in F4 in 2023 with seven. The team is adding an eighth car as well later this season.

The field of F4 is crowded, and so is the part of the paddock occupied by Jay Howard Driver Development and its eight cars. The team had their cars lined up in two rows of four, with mechanics bustling up and down the line, working on each one.

Michael Costello only officially was signed by the team after testing an F4 car in the series’s official test in New Orleans, weeks before they returned to the same track to start the season. Immediately near the top of the leaderboard, former IndyCar driver and team owner Jay Howard pulled the trigger on signing Costello only days after the test concluded.

According to Michael Costello, the large number of cars that Jay Howard Driver Development fields have not impacted the amount of care he has received individually as a driver. He said the team works hard to ensure every driver is up to speed.

“Based on how much we need to fix, that’s how in-depth they go with us,” Michael Costello said. “For example, if (a driver) was doing everything right, the conversation would have been ‘Fix this minor mistake’ or ‘It looks all good.’”

Away from the bustle of the race track, Michael Costello lives like any other 16-year-old would. He attends a public school, missing only the days he needs to for his racing commitments.

On top of this, he also spends his free time fishing. Relaxing with friends and family, he contrasts the calm nature of fishing and the competitive life of motorsport.

“I enjoy (fishing) a lot,” Michael Costello said. “I don’t have to worry about having to defend 30 cars into one corner.”

While Michael Costello’s first race at New Orleans was spoiled by being caught up in an early incident, his pace consistently improved throughout the three-race weekend. He ended this weekend with a second-place finish in the third and final race.

Heading into next week’s race at Road America, Michael Costello believes this could be the weekend he takes his first win in F4. It is just one step on the road to his ultimate goal, which remains driving in IndyCar.

“Luck has to be there, we just have to get those fast laps down and keep being consistent,” Michael Costello said. “Yeah, Road America, 100%, I think I can get my first one.”

Michael Costello will race next in the Formula 4 United States Championship on May 18, when the Road America SpeedTour kicks off.