Juan Manuel Correa: My greatest influences

30 September 2022

Several people have helped shape Juan Manuel Correa into the man and racer he is today and it’s time for the ART Grand Prix driver to talk us through those who have influenced his career along the way. From family ties to his support network trackside, the American driver reveals the stories behind those who have inspired and had his back along the way.

HIS DAD

“When I was seven years old, I was driving motocross in Ecuador and my dad was into bikes quite a bit. Then he started rally driving as a hobby and he met the motorsports community in Ecuador and then one day, he decided to take me to a go-kart track to let me try a go-kart.

“From that day onwards, I never wanted to go back on the bike because the go-kart was my new passion and I turned out to be really good at it. The fact that he got me into it and also, I think throughout my whole career, he’s always had a big say in what I do. He’s kind of like my best friend in a way, he’s never forced me to do anything, but he gives me a lot of advice with the limited knowledge he has about the sport. He has definitely been a huge, huge influence on my career.

“I think he did a really good job with me since the beginning, in terms of just leaving me with the experts in the race team and letting them deal with me. He just focused more on having a father-son relationship with me. In this sport, there are a lot of parents that are trying to live their frustrated dreams of being a racing driver through their kids and put pressure on them – that was never the case with my dad.

“He tries to give me some advice but more on the personal life and business side of it. He’s a businessman and he has a very pragmatic way of thinking about things, which is actually very good. There are very few people in the world whose advice I would take over my father’s. I trust him completely and we’re very similar in how we think and how we deal with problems.

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“Obviously, on the sporting side of it, there’s not much he can say, but in the bigger picture and approach to it, he’s still a very valuable influence on me. I left my home when I was 14, so that was a whole process of living alone at that age, finding a way to have structure. We were still talking everyday over the phone when I was in Italy and that’s what kept me sane.

“I think both he and my mother did a really good job at making sure I came out alright, whilst at the same time not being in the family house since I was 14, so I have to thank them for that.”

HIS FORMER DRIVER COACH

“My second greatest influence is a driver coach I had at the beginning 2011/2012, his name is Jay Howard. He used to be an IndyCar driver and he was the Indy Lights champion back in 2006 and he’s really the guy that I think took my driving to the next level.

“I raced in Ecuador until I was 11. Then my family and I moved to Miami and that’s when I met Jay and started driving for his team and he started coaching me. I was one of the best karting drivers in Ecuador when I arrived, but the level in Miami and in Europe is that much better, so he really transformed me into an international driver.

“Actually, a lot of the things I learned from him I have carried up through my years in karting and now into the junior formulas as well. He shaped me in many ways, more so the foundation of my driving. We always say karting is the foundation and my karting foundation was based on his coaching – the aggressivity, the racecraft. I’m known to be aggressive and to have good racecraft and I was already like that in karting after going through Jay.

“He was the British kind of ruthless racer, they are a bit old school in some ways, and I love that. He was also a very smart guy, and we did a lot of laps together, a lot of training and he made me grow up. One of the biggest things that stuck with me was his approach before a race – for him, it was like going to war.

“I remember I was like 12 at this stage and I cannot say exactly what I he said, but he would be like ‘go and show them, be confident and you always got to believe that you’re better than the rest’ and that’s something I still do and it works for me.”

HIS SPORTING MANAGER

“Gwen Lagrue – he's been my sporting manager since 2014. I won the Rotax Grand Finals in go-karts at the end of 2013, and he spotted me after that race and brought me into the Lotus Junior Team. He was the guy that helped me move to Europe at that age and start karting here.

“At that moment, he was managing the Lotus junior drivers and when Lotus and the junior programme closed, he became just my sporting manager and we’ve been together ever since. He’s had the greatest influence in terms of the path my career has taken over the last eight or nine years and he’s still with me – I had dinner with him last night!

“He stuck with me during and after the accident. He worked really hard to help me get back, it was not easy to get an opportunity with my comeback last year and a lot of it is thanks to him. We’ve developed a very close relationship by now, even with my father he’s very, very close. It has gone from more of a professional relationship to almost like a family, which is nice and I’m sure he will be with me for whatever the next step is in my career.

“Racing is a very tough world, not only in the competitiveness that the drivers have to face on track, but also the competitiveness in finding and negotiating with teams, making the right choices there. This sport is not straightforward with what championship you are doing to do or which team you are going to join, you need a lot of advice.

“To find someone who has always pushed for my best interests, not what was better for him and that taught my father and I how this business works, I think we got really lucky to have him so early on when we were just making the move to Europe because he knows exactly how it works over here. I don’t know where I would be without him, definitely not here!

“I’ve learned a lot from him on how to deal with the negative side of the sport, the political side of it and how to be smart about it. He's a French guy – so he’s emotional but extremely smart. He's been doing this for a long time and the way he manages other people’s emotions and strategy. He's done deals not only for me but for other drivers that blows most people away, nobody is expecting it and he just manages to get the deal done.

“He has a very big vision on what’s better for his drivers and with him you always know, if he’s saying something, it’s because it’s what he thinks is best for you. There's no agenda there.”