Days before boarding a flight to India for the defining race weekend of his young career, Shane Chandaria was strikingly calm. At just 15, and on the brink of history, there were none of the nerves one might expect from a teenager carrying the weight of expectation.
Barring the unexpected, Shane was poised to clinch the 2025 Indian Formula 4 Championship, capping a remarkable debut season in single-seater racing. On Sunday, December 14, at the Kari Motor Speedway in Chennai, he did exactly that – securing the title and etching his name into Kenyan motorsport history as one of the country’s most promising racing exports.
News of this Kenyan motorsports prodigy started filtering in weeks ago when his exploits in the Indian F4 became hard to ignore. Suddenly, Shane was in the mouth of every Kenyan motorsport enthusiast.
In a nation synonymous with rallying success, Chandaria’s rise through the ranks of global open-wheel racing signals something new: a Kenyan teenager daring to chart a path toward the highest level of motorsport.
For those who know Shane, his passion and focus are hardly surprising. Having picked up karting as a hobby at a friend’s birthday, he has never really looked back since.
“There’s this one place, the GP Karting in Nairobi, that I used to go to and I spent two years just racing for fun,” he says. “And then when I was eight, I got my own go-kart. I raced in Kenya until I was 12, winning the national championship before I moved to the UK when I was 13 in 2023.
“In the UK, I participated in the FIA Karting Academy Trophy competing against drivers from 52 different countries. Then in 2024 I was in the British Kart Championship until June of this year when I moved to Formula 4.”
A step up from karting, the decision to enter the shootout for the Indian F4 Championship was no walk in the park. But Shane’s grit and nerves of steel saw him qualify for the championship.
Composed of four rounds, the championship, which started in August, would see Shane’s true driving skills come to the fore. Despite having to make a monthly round trip from Kenya to India, the young speedster showed why all the buzz he has been generating is deserved.
With one race to go before the end of the championship, Shane had amassed a healthy 24-point lead that would eventually see him claim the driver’s trophy on the final day. The win sees him qualify for the French F4 Championship next year.
This success has come in no small part thanks to the support of Shane’s parents, who have shouldered the cost of this expensive endeavour at a stage where it’s difficult to attract sponsorships.
As Shane’s mother, Rupal Chandaria, puts it: “The sport is not recognised as much in Kenya so it has been a challenge for us to get sponsorship locally. But yeah, being Kenyan and one of the youngest drivers, I’m sure people are noticing more and more and we’re hoping that people will come forward and support him.”
Thankfully, towards the end of the season, the Chandarias received support from Victoria Commercial Bank in Nairobi that helped ease some of the expenses.
Having already broken ground few Kenyans have dared to tread, Shane is no longer chasing a distant dream. With focus, composure, and quiet confidence, he is already on the road – one race, one season, and one opportunity at a time.
For now, that journey is carefully balanced between ambition and normalcy. When he is not studying through his online programme or analysing data on his simulator, Shane unwinds like any other teenager – spending time with friends, watching movies, and allowing himself the space to reset.
Shane… in his own words
How has it been competing in the Indian F4?
It’s been a really positive experience. I’ve gotten to grips with the car a bit better despite going into the championship with very little experience and only a few practice days. But I mean, ever since I joined, the coaches, the mechanics, everyone’s helped me improve and grow. We put in a lot of work and we can see the progress since the start of the season as a driver and as a person as well.
I think it was a really good introduction to the sport because it showed me how the racing will be, how to drive the car. So it’s basically all just preparation for what’s to come next.
The competition in the Indian F4 is very strong. It has a mix of new and some experienced drivers, so the race can be quite close. At the front especially, there are some good drivers and you can learn off other people, which only improves you as a driver and also makes you work harder to try and beat them. The competition is top level and also prepares you well for what’s to come.
I think some of the mistakes I’ve made this year are a lot my fault. Some of the things I did in races were not the right decisions, especially because it’s my first season in F4, which is a lot different from go-karts. I made some errors in the races, which cost me sometimes a win or a podium. But the main thing is we’ve been able to learn from all of them and move past them while still being able to take the lead in the championship. I think I also had one race where I had some engine issues, but that’s just racing. You can’t really control that.
Training and coaching
I have a coach in India, and he talks me through the data, watches my races, and tells me where I can improve. And then I also have online coaches, professional racing trainers, who help me with the simulator and gym training. They’re based out of the UK and help with mental strength conditioning.
To get into the sport, a bit of experience in a simulator or go-karts is needed to be able to get to grips with the car and the track. I’d say two years’ experience in a go-kart or competitively in a simulator. And then obviously you need the financial backing and approval from your parents, because it’s both an expensive and dangerous sport. Yeah, so I mean, you need to be able to take that risk and then you need to get into racing.
Family, fan and corporate support
So far it’s just been my parents and family, but obviously we had the support of Victoria Commercial Bank for round three of the championship, and we are grateful.
We are always looking for sponsors because it only gets more expensive as you go up the ranks. I think most of the people at this stage are self-funded.
I am quite lucky because the support I get from my family is really great. So I’m really happy about that. Again, my friends at home follow me. And then you get the people on Instagram who can just see what you’re doing. So I have great support from my family and friends, and it helps motivate me to keep going.
Road to F1
It is very difficult to get into F1. Next year there’ll be 22 seats in F1. There are thousands of kids in go-karts. So it’s a very fine margin. You have to be not only a good driver; you have to have the right funding, the right backing, you have to know the right people, and you have to be at the right place at the right time. Basically, you have to get everything to go right. It’s a very fine line between making it to F1 and not.
But the good thing about it is if you’re on the route to F1, oftentimes there are other racing series like the World Endurance Championship or GT3 World Challenge series, or stuff like that that the teams can take you on if they see you’re a good driver, and then it gives you an opportunity to race. So there will be opportunities along the way.
I think there is a certain pressure to perform, but the best thing to do is just drive. For me, I just drive and try not to worry about it because I know there have been times where I’ve worried about it, and I’ve just had a really bad race because I’m not actually thinking of how to drive fast.
School and unwinding
I am enrolled in an online school offering an American programme. When I am done with classes, I normally play on my simulator, but for fun, not in intense training mode. And then, obviously, I go out with friends and do stuff with them. I also watch a movie or give myself a break for a bit on Sunday just to recharge myself.
Sporting heroes – on and off the track
In the racing world, my heroes are Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, as well as Valentino Rossi in MotoGP. Out of motorsports, someone who I look up to is probably Conor McGregor, as I like his mindset.
