The karting guru who helped Norris and other F1 stars

Formula 1 fans may not recognise the name Mick Barrett, but he is one of the most respected and successful team owners in the world of karting. During his career, he has helped many drivers on their way: new world champion Lando Norris, Williams racer Alex Albon, endurance ace Ben Barnicoat and Aston Martin factory driver Tom Gamble.

Within months of being born, in Hackney in 1954, Barrett was adopted, not knowing anything about his biological parents. He was brought up and lived with a family in Highgate, London, before the family moved to Southend-on-Sea, close to the Grosvenor Rock Factory.

School was OK, reckons Mick, but summer lunchtimes on the beach turned into afternoons on the beach rather than back behind his desk. He was nevertheless encouraged to stay on until the fifth year, at the end of which he was summoned to see the careers officer. When asked what he wanted to do in life, Barrett told them: “I want to run a race team!” This was met with derision and dismission.

Another move around the age of eight took the family to Ilford. By this time Mick had discovered a love of sport, at which he excelled, especially running and then rugby. His passion and skill for rugby was noted and was trialled, and he was accepted for Essex. However, another activity caught his eye.

Barrett’s uncle had taken him to Rye House, where his business partner was testing his go-kart. And upon seeing this, the young Mick was hooked…

His adoptive parents had little money and so, at weekends and during holidays, Barrett used to help his father, who was a flooring contractor working in all types of establishments. Two paper rounds also helped to bring in some money and so, at the age of nine, Mick was able to start racing at Rye House and Kimbolton against the likes of Terry Fullerton and Alan Turney. The family had an estate car, with one kart on the roof and another in the back. He used to sit in the one in the back as his parents were sitting in the front! Despite not having a huge budget to spend on his new sport, Barrett’s competitive spirit saw his progression from a Mk1 Zip kart to a Voodoo, built by Turney senior.

Mick grew up with motorsport at the centre of his life, a focus that continued into running his own team

Photo by: Tim Wright

Mick met Rachel at a disco held in the Greengate public house in Ilford when they were 19. Rachel, originally from Paris, was an au pair for a local family whose previous helper had been called Shelley and she inherited the name. They married in 1975 and Shelley immediately became a supporter of his motorsport passion.

Barrett tried a different discipline during the 1970s in the form of hot rods, racing against such luminaries as Barry Lee, who was working out of his dad’s garage in Chigwell. The hot rod racing lasted for a couple of years until Shelley became pregnant, so Barrett stopped racing and sold off all his equipment. Their son, Dan, was born in May 1981, and like Mick he was very sporty and good at football. He could have gone on to be a professional, but he was never able to play at the weekends – a bit of a drawback! – because they were always away racing.

Barrett Sr had rekindled his love of karting and met Bruno Ferrari, who was looking after Dan Wheldon in 1987. Bruno was instrumental in helping Mick form his own team, where they ran Tom Sisley and Gareth Howe. At the age of seven, Dan Barrett started karting, run by his father, and quickly became competitive in Cadets. It was at this time that Mick himself stopped racing to dedicate more time to the team and his son’s career.

Mick Barrett Racing has probably the smallest number of karts – there are three or four in the awning, whereas other outfits have anything up to 10. When asked about this, Mick replies that he prefers quality over quantity and to use his favourite saying, “We like to think we’re Harrods, not Lidl!”

During 1989-90 and expanding into the Junior and Senior categories, the list of drivers that Mick helped grew impressively. Over the years, he has worked with Oliver Oakes, Ben Hanley, Rodolfo Gonzales, Manuel Maldonado, Charlie Robertson and Michael Spencer, all of whom brought success to the team and went on to enjoy fine careers in various branches of the sport, Oakes in particular forming his own team and briefly running the Alpine F1 squad.

In 1998, after much success at home and in Europe, Dan qualified to run in the Formula Renault Winter Series against Kimi Raikkonen. Meanwhile, the family used other sports to keep fit, skiing, water skiing, surfing and windsurfing, as well as running and swimming.

In March 2000, Barrett and his family moved up to Lincolnshire, to be closer to the Paul Fletcher International go-kart track. The venue had established itself as one of the best in the country and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024. Barrett’s new plot had a big house and outbuildings once used to keep dogs, and a courtyard, ideal for parking the truck and several vehicles. They worked hard to transform the outbuildings into useable garage space for the karts and for storage for all their other equipment.

The father and son duo, with support from the mother, enabled the Barrett operation to grow

Photo by: Tim Wright

Dan now helps with the running of the team and spends a lot of time away with drivers competing abroad. He is also responsible for data analysis and talking the drivers through their laps, showing them where valuable time can be found.

Shelley became the backbone of the team, keeping the books, making the food and checking that everyone was in the right place at the right time. She was hugely loved by the karting community, and this showed after her untimely death early in 2024, as the majority of the 200 mourners at her funeral were from the karting world.

Barrett acknowledges that being so invested in the timetable of karting means many of the usual family get-togethers, weddings and birthday parties, that take place at weekends, are sadly missed.

It is noticeable in the paddock that Mick Barrett Racing has probably the smallest number of karts – there are three or four in the awning, whereas other outfits have anything up to 10. When asked about this, Mick replies that he prefers quality over quantity and to use his favourite saying, “We like to think we’re Harrods, not Lidl!”

His truck, built by a friend, is state of the art and, like most professional race trucks, has an office and space for multiple karts. The most impressive features are electronically operated drawers that house many spares, but most importantly, engines. You need to know the code to access these, though.

Barrett is now a director of Trent Valley Kart Club located at PFI, which he regards as a privilege, and he can use his knowledge and experience to help the running of the circuit; when he is not advising in the stewards’ room, he is often sought out by other teams when they need to source parts or equipment.

He also supports Boston College, and their motorsport department, donating some of his karts for the students to disassemble and then put back together. One of the tutors at the college is Matt Daniels, also a good friend, and between them they strive to educate school leavers in the world of motorsport, either as mechanics, data engineers or even aspiring F1 drivers. Indeed, some of the students have helped out at race meetings and gone on to qualify in other disciplines such as scrutineering.

Lall put all of McLaren's youngsters through Mick Barrett Racing when its young driver programme was first set up

Photo by: JEP

Throughout his career, Barrett has come across or collaborated with many well-known faces, such as Peter Collins of Lotus fame, with whom he formed the Gillard International team. Others include Ron Meadows, now with the Mercedes F1 team, Anthony Hamilton and Rod Vickery, once part of Virgin with Richard Branson and who managed Albon in the early years. In fact, Mick knew Nigel Albon, Alex’s father, a lot earlier when they were both in the motor trade in London.

World championship-winning chief mechanic Indy Lall, a long-time McLaren employee who now runs McLaren Heritage in Woking, has known Barrett for many years and has a huge respect for him. “When I first watched Mick and Dan at work at Whilton Mill, there was no fuss, everything was calm even if they were having problems,” says Lall. “I was running my son Ryan at the time and Mick helped us and, along with Shelley, they were very welcoming.”

When McLaren set up its young drivers’ programme, Lall put all the young karters through Mick Barrett Racing. This is where Formula E world champion Oliver Rowland, Nathan Aston and IndyCar racer Santino Ferruci, as well as Norris, Albon, Gamble and Barnicoat, learnt their trade.

When Mick was asked to give a young Alex Albon a try-out at PFI, a track he had never driven at before, he was impressed and told Nigel Albon: “He’s not inch perfect, he’s millimetre perfect!”

Norris becoming world champion has made Mick and Dan very proud. They remember him being very focused, always wanting to be driving and learning. At one particular test, they had a day off and decided to go to a local water park, but Lando refused and said he preferred to keep testing. Every chance he had, no matter the weather, he wanted to drive and was especially quick in wet conditions.

When Mick was asked to give a young Alex Albon a try-out at PFI, a track he had never driven at before, he was impressed and told Nigel Albon: “He’s not inch perfect, he’s millimetre perfect!” Always keen on studying the data, Alex would look through all the data to see where he could improve.

Having established his team as one of the premium outfits in the incredibly competitive world of karting, the Barrett family is still a tight knit affair, with Dan’s wife Kirsty sorting out the company books and Mick’s twin daughters helping out and keeping an eye on the running of the family home.

Albon was another future F1 star to pass through the Barrett set up

Photo by: GP3 Series Media Service

The first time your writer went to PFI to meet Mick, even the man in the gatehouse knew exactly where the Barrett truck and awning was located, such is the respect by which he is held.

It was a revelation to me that the paddock resembled that of F1 from a few years ago, with huge trucks and awnings filling the space. Also parked up were top-of-the-range road cars such as McLaren, Bentley and Lamborghini, which at a guess belonged to families of the aspiring racers rather than the team owners! That’s surely an indication of the high cost of karting these days. The quest for success is tangible, with Mick Barrett still at the forefront.

Mick would like to pass on his congratulations to Lando for winning the F1 world championship and also asked that this article be dedicated to Shelley Barrett, without whose dedication, enthusiasm and drive, Mick Barrett Racing might not have survived.

Norris winning the F1 world title is just a small part of the Barrett success story

Photo by: Handout / FIA / DPPI via Getty Images