When the USF Juniors series tested at Sebring International Raceway in December, Leonardo Escorpioni wanted to compete, but was just a month too young.

Thanks to turning 14 two weeks ago, Escorpioni will be barely old enough to take part in USF Juniors by the time the series has its first races at NOLA Motorsports Park. Despite making the cutoff, he will still be one of the youngest drivers on the grid.

Escorpioni is not just moving up to USF Juniors on his own. The team he drove for in karting for the past four years, Zanella Racing, will move up with him and sponsor their first entry in the series after team owner Jose Zanella purchased two USF Juniors cars.

Escorpioni said that the unique setup will not only save him money, but also provide the infrastructure if he and Zanella eventually decide to move up to USF2000 or USF Pro 2000.

“I wouldn’t be where I was at karting if it wasn’t for (Jose Zanella),” Escorpioni said. “We had nothing to lose and it was my first year anyways, so we bought a brand new car and decided to try it out.”

Escorpioni will not just be one of the youngest drivers on the grid, he might also just be the one who was placed in a go kart at the youngest age. His father, Fabio Escorpioni, raced in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 series which was based in the family’s home country of Brazil. Alongside his father, Leonardo Escorpioni got the chance to drive go-karts for the first time at the age of two.

Leonardo Escorpioni said he did not partake in any races, he solely practiced from then until when he was around eight or nine. His family also moved to Florida, which gave Leonardo Escorpioni the chance to race at the national level in America with the support of his father.

Leonardo Escorpioni credits his father with his desire to keep practicing and improving. While Leonardo Escorpioni admitted that he was not that good at first, his father continued to push him along. Now, Leonardo Escorpioni joked that he could probably beat his dad in a race given how much he has developed. 

“When I was a lot younger, he coached a lot,” Escorpioni said. “Then I had a talk with him and kind of told him to just let me do my thing.”

While not eligible for the Sebring test, Escorpioni has gotten the chance to drive at a variety of tracks that he will be racing on for USF Juniors. With every new track, he is learning more about which skills he will continue to have to develop if he wants to be successful at the next level.

A unique challenge came when he, like many of the other drivers he will race against this year, got the chance recently to compete in testing in the rain at Barber Motorsports Park. 

“It was my first time ever in the rain and I was so scared,” Escorpioni said. “It’s just that you don’t know the limit.”

During the Barber test, it was only the fourth time that he had driven the USF Juniors car. Alongside himself, Escorpioni had Brazilian Indy NXT driver Victor Franzoni coaching, which Escorpioni said was a huge help when it came to adjusting.

The pace was also on the level that he expected to be. For Escorpioni, this is a year which will be used primarily for growing and learning more about the car. He aims to make an additional run at the championship in 2025 to move up the ladder.

He’ll also get more chances to improve next month when he takes part in the two rounds of the YACademy Winter Series.

“I need a lot of work,” Escorpioni said. “This year is honestly just a learning year, learning as much as we can for 2025.”

However, the prospect of racing at this level is still exciting for Escorpioni. He is especially excited to be able to race as a support series for IndyCar at race weekends like the one at Mid-Ohio in July.

For his racing career, reaching the same paddocks as them is just another step of a long journey.

“You watch them on television and then you’re over there, racing at the same track as them with them,” Escorpioni said. “It’s a dream come true.”