KUALA LUMPUR — For Alister Yoong, racing is not just a career — it is an obsession that never quite switches off.

The 23-year-old, son of Malaysia’s first and only Formula One driver Alex Yoong, has officially turned professional after signing with France-based Switch Racing for the 2026 season — the latest milestone in a journey more than a decade in the making.

Unlike many drivers who start almost as soon as they can walk, Yoong only entered the sport at 13 through karting. 

Within two years, he was already winning races, eventually clinching the Formula 4 South-east Asia Championship in 2019 at just 15.

What followed was a steady climb through the ranks. 

Yoong went on to become a multiple Formula 4 race winner, a former Proton R3 factory driver, and later claimed the Indian Racing League title in 2022. 

He added the French Sports Prototype championship in 2023 and secured multiple wins in the Italian Sports Prototype series.

Yet, for all the talk of legacy, Yoong’s path was far from preordained.

Though his father made history in Formula One and his grandfather Hanifah Yoong won the Malaysian Super Saga in 1991, Yoong once considered a very different future — weighing up careers as a marine biologist or even a motoring reporter.

“Racing became an obsession as I pursued it more seriously over the years,” he said.

“I actually don’t fit in a race car well because I’m six foot two. So, I’m quite used to coming out of the car with bruises and spasms now — but I just can’t stop thinking about doing this.

“It’s like a switch that never really turns off.”