Wednesday, December 18: Australian driver Damon Cohen was recently announced as the second driver in the return of the Comparato F1 Team to the 2025 UIM F1H2O World Championship.
He will accompany Alberto Comparato from the start of the new season and was present in the UAE last week working with Maverick Racing at the Road to Sharjah-Grand Prix of Sharjah. The 25-year-old Sydney driver has been involved in the sport behind the scenes for some time and will be able to call upon valuable information gleaned from his brother Brock, who has recent experience of the racing scene in the world’s premier championship.
Damon said: “I am very excited for next year. I was a little nervous returning to Sharjah and watching everyone in practice. Then, after watching the Sprint races and the warm-up, it got me very excited to get in the boat and take my first steps into F1H2O, where I hope to improve at each race.
“Unfortunately, due to the short notice I won’t be able to test the boat I’ll be competing in. However, my sponsor has a Formula One boat ready at home and I plan to do many laps in that, just more to get comfortable with the speed and work the muscles required to drive the boat. Then I will have to adjust to the new boat in the F1H2O series.
“My brother and I have been racing together since we were eight-years-old. We understand the same feeling inside the boat, so it’s very easy to relay information together and help to understand each other and how we drive. I will definitely be asking for a lot of advice with his mentoring before I get in the boat.
“Maverick Racing has been great to work with. I am very grateful to work with Alexandre (Bourgeot) these last two races and Cédric (Deguisne) the one before. It’s always great to meet people in the pit lane and I’m excited to be with Comparato Racing. At home in Australia, everyone is quite friendly, so I think the relationship (with other teams) will be great. We help each when we can but, when we are on the water, the gloves will be off!”
Damon started racing in the Australian Formula Future Championship in 2011 and graduated to the AFPGP F2 series and was pole position winner in 2018 and 2019. He was the 2024 Australian Unlimited Open champion.
A marine mechanic and engine builder by trade, he was the lead mechanic for Grant Trask in 2018 and his brother in the 2023 UIM F1H2O World Championship.
