Formula E has announced that Derin Adetosoye is the winner of its Formula E’s Open Talent Call for Presenters.
The 21-year-old Londoner is set to join the Formula E presenting line-up in Santiago next month as part of the contest’s prize.
The Formula E Talent Call employed several judges, among them ex-Formula E driver Daniel Abt and professional presenter Maya Jama.
The initiative was launched in August for “Gen Zs between the age of 18 and 24 who reside in the UK, France or Germany”.
Formula E said it’s “targeted diverse young talent with the skills to join an existing presenter and commentator team of Vernon Kay, Nicki Shields, Dario Franchitti, Jack Nicholls and Saunders Carmichael-Brown”.
An initial pool of 15 were selected in October to go through to a final of four. Those in this pool included previous Formula E accredited journalist Harry Benjamin, student Lorna Nelson and motorsport podcaster/activist Edward Hunter.
The final four finalists, which in addition to Adetosoye were Tati Baker, Alexa Rendell and Aiden Vincent, travelled to Valencia for the official pre-season test last month to complete a series of challenges.
The judges reconvened after the test and selected Adetosoye as the winner. She will become the first black female presenter for an international motorsport rights holder.
Adetosoye has co-hosted a show on BBC’s Bitesize programme and built her own successful YouTube channel with 50k subscribers.
“It is such an incredible honour to have won the Open Talent Call for Presenters,” said Adetosoye.
“I am so excited to be joining the remarkable Formula E family next season and make my mark as the first black woman presenter for an international motorsports rights holder.”
Formula E’s published an open letter in July to provide “greater opportunity for under-represented groups in our sport”. This then saw the new world championship promote what it calls “raw young talents” who were “encouraged to apply no matter their experience level”.
Formula E says it worked closely with diverse communities to ensure the competition was as accessible as possible from day one.
“The judges had the unenviable task of selecting one winner from an incredible line-up of Gen Z talent, “ said Chief Communications Officer of Formula E, Katie Traxton.
“We only hope that the platform Formula E provided for all the finalists will give them the springboard they deserve.
“Derin will play an essential part in connecting Formula E with the new generation of fans who are integral to our vision and mission as we race for better futures.”
The Open Talent Call for Presenters is the first initiative of the Electric Futures programme announced this summer in Formula E’s #PositivelyCharged open letter as part of the FIA’s #PurposeDriven movement.
