Y/n Yu never believed in love at first sight, in his mind, he was more likely to run to the barriers of a race track at 300 km/h, than crash into someone's heart.
Danielle was always a believer in one true love. She believed that she would fall in l...
A/N: Liberal use of wiki inspiration from Zhou Guanyu, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, and Lance Stroll
Wiki page for Y/N Yu
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(above: Y/N Yu in 2023)
Y/N Yu (Born 22 August 2002) is a South Korean racing driver currently competing in Formula One under the South Korean flag. He has driven for Aston Martin since 2022. He is the first, and so far the only, South Korean driver to compete in Formula One.
Personal life
Yu was born and raised in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, in a family consisting of his parents, and two older sisters. One of his older sisters is Karina, a member of the girl group aespa. His eldest sister and mother both work as nurses, and his father is a businessman. He studied abroad in England under a sports scholarship during his early racing days.
He speaks fluent Korean, English, and Italian. And is a well-known Snoopy fan.
He was once alleged to be romantically involved with Ningning of aespa, which was later disproven by SM Entertainment and his management to be false accusations.
Junior career
Having started karting when he was seven years old in South Korea, Yu moved to Silverstone, England in 2010 for a more competitive racing environment.
Yu competed in KF-Junior class, winning the CIK-FIA European Championship and the CIK-FIA International Super Cup, as well as the WSK Euro Series. The following year he won the CIK-FIA World Championship in KF class.
Formula 4
In mid 2015, Yu landed his first major sponsorship, SM Labels (founded and owned by SM Entertainment), which helped fund his racing career. This was displayed on his racing suit and car during his F3, and F2 seasons and even when he raced in F1. In early 2016, Yu made his single-seater debut in selected rounds of the Formula 4 UAE Championship with Dragon F4, claiming 6 podiums to take 2nd in the championship.
In September 2022, Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner revealed that he missed a chance to sign Yu to their junior team during his Formula 4 years.
FIA Formula 3 Championship
2018
Yu joined team Motopark for the 2018 FIA European F3 Championship. After a successful season opener rounds in Paul Ricard and Hungaroring by finishing in 2 podium positions, Yu struggled to find pace during the 2nd half of the season, finishing in 13th for his maiden season.
2019
Yu stayed for a second F3 season by rejoining Prema. After a maiden career win in Pau, a podium in Hungaroring, and three consecutive podium finishes in Zandvoort, Yu found him standing in 2nd, just a point behind teammate Marcus Armstrong. Despite a strong qualifying pace in Spa and Silverstone, Yu suffered 3 consecutive retirements with a series of teammate collisions and tyre punctures. Yu won his second F3 race in Hockenheim, finishing the season 4th in the standings, with 5 poles, and 3 wins.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
In mid-2019, Yu became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy as he joined the FIA Formula 2 Championships. Ultimately leaving in early 2020.
In December 2019, Yu joined UNI-Virtuosi Racing along with Luca Ghiotto for the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship. Yu achieved a maiden feature race podium in Barcelona after a strong qualifying and leading most of the race before dropping to third due to tyre degradation. He subsequently achieved another 3rd in the Monaco sprint race. At Silverstone, Yu scored his first Formula 2 pole position, becoming the first South Korean driver to do so. Later, Yu also scored third place in the sprint race at Paul Ricard. In the feature race at Silverstone, he gained positions to finish first place. In Abu Dhabi, he also finished first with the fastest lap in Race 1. He finished 3rd in the championship and was subsequently awarded the Anthoine Hubert Award for being the highest-finishing rookie.
Formula one
2020
In 2020, Yu was signed as a test driver for McLaren. Yu took part in three test sessions driving the MCL 35, including the post-season test at Yas Marina Circuit. Yu remained with McLaren throughout the 2021 season, test-driving and aiding the development of the MCL 35M upgrade package during the first practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix, as well as serving as the reserve driver for the 2021 season.
2022
Move to Aston Martin
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(Y/N Yu on at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix)
Yu was signed to Aston Martin, partnering with Lance Stroll and taking Sebastian Vettel's spot as the German driver retired from Formula One. He made his debut as the first full-time South Korean F1 driver in the 2022 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix, participating in testing with the AMR 22. In a press release following the testing, Yu chose 13 as his permanent racing number, as he started open-wheel racing at the age of 13 years old, and that he'll "make the unlucky number lucky". Qualifying P3 for the first race of the season, He remained competitive throughout the season, racking up a total of 49 points in his debut year.
2023
Yu signed a multi-year contract with Aston Martin, the contract states that he would stay on with the team until 2026. During the 2023 season, he was able to bring out the performance of the AMR 23, at the of the season, finishing P4 in the 2023 World Drivers' Championship, with 206 points.
Other ventures
(endorsements)
In January 2022, Yu was selected as SM Entertainment's global ambassador.
In April 2022, Yu was selected as a goodwill ambassador for Maeil Business Newspaper's "Clean Campaign", alongside his sister Karina.
In November 2023, Samsung appointed Yu as the official spokesperson for their smartphone lineup.
In January 2024, Yu was involved in the latest development of the new Aston Martin Vantage sports car.
Racing Record
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