Alexandra Schieren and Maren Braun will now lead the media training for the drivers of Austria’s Formula Racing Junior Academy
The Formelaustria Young Driver Programme, which was launched in June 2024 by the international sports consulting agency HM Sports and Renauer Motorsport, is a two-year programme in which kart talents and sim racers are trained to become fully-fledged Formula 4 racing drivers.
Riccardo Patrese (F1 Vice World Champion 1992) and Alex Wurz (two-time Le Mans winner) are already ambassadors of the programme, and through the partnership with David Coulthard’s (F1 Vice World Champion 2001) More Than Equal Initiative, women also get the chance to take part in the programme.
In addition to the drivers’ sporting training, great importance is also attached to the development of the participants off the track, which is why media training is part of the programme. PR professionals Alexandra Schieren and Maren Braun will take over this area with immediate effect.
“Harry and I have crossed paths several times in racing and I am delighted to now be able to take on this exciting task,” says Schieren. “The sooner the drivers learn how to deal with the media and interviews, the faster they can gain extra points with teams and sponsors,” adds Braun.
Alexandra Schieren has been working in motorsport PR for over 25 years, entering the international stage via the former Toyota WRC team in Cologne. For many years she worked as the FIA’s Formula 1 press spokesperson in Paris and as F1 communications manager at Pirelli. In 2015, the German-born woman founded AS Sports Communication and specialized in media and PR work for drivers, racetracks and sponsors worldwide.
Maren Braun has worked as a presenter for various TV stations for over two decades and has accompanied all the top racing series from DTM to Formula 1 as well as the American NASCAR Cup Series and the World Rally Championship with the microphone. For several years she has worked as a camera performance coach and has developed a special interview training for young racing drivers.
“I have known Alexandra and Maren since our time together in Formula 1 and know that both always deliver the highest quality. We already do this for our drivers on the track and in terms of marketing. That’s why it was very important to me to be able to offer our participants top international standards in the area of media training,” says program director Harry Miltner, looking forward to the collaboration.
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