50. Jan Przyrowski

New entry • Raised his game to feature in two F4 title fights

Photo: Campos Racing

Photo: Campos Racing

Spanish Formula 4 sophomore Przyrowski made big strides in 2025, boosted by the continuity of remaining in Campos Racing’s line-up, having strong team-mates and a winter series to gain extra mileage in.

Last year he came 10th in Spanish F4, with two podiums and three fastest laps, and he was able to double his points and podium tally in a campaign by this March as he went on a roll in the inaugural Spanish F4 Winter Championship.

Przyrowski took both poles in round one, converting each into a win, and also won in rounds two and three to be runner-up in the standings. He was beaten to the title by team-mate Thomas Strauven, and their friendly on-track rivalry helped both to raise their game.

That continued into the main championship, where Przyrowski won three of the first four races. He was on the podium at all but one track, his run of seven successive poles incorporated three rounds, and he scored over 200 points in a field which was very competitive at the front. In every race he showed major improvements on the level he had performed at in 2024.

49. Salim Hanna

New entry • Top rookie in Europe’s most competitive F4 field

Photo: ACI Sport

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

The seven-race Formula Trophy season in the United Arab Emirates a year ago was Hanna’s sole single-seater experience before embarking on a four-pronged Formula 4 attack in 2025.

F4 Middle East was the first championship he raced in, driving a Mumbai Falcons-branded car run by Prema, and he took a maiden podium en route to sixth in the standings. He remained with Prema for Italian F4 and its sister championship E4, and Hanna – under the guidance of countrymen Juan Pablo and Sebastian Montoya – continued to grow as a driver.

The Italian F4 season begin with Hanna starting on pole, and he converted it into a second place finish. There were five further podiums across the campaign, putting him fourth in the standings and topping the rookie classification.

In E4 he was seventh, adding one podium to his 2025 tally, and his busy schedule was completed by joining Virtuosi Racing in British F4 for two weekends. His first time in the paddock at Thruxton delivered his first victory, then in the Formula 1-supporting non-championship round at Silverstone he won both races.

48. Pepe Marti

Re-entry • Earned FE seat after matching F1-bound team-mate

Photo: Red Bull

Photo: Red Bull

Marti came 10th in Formula Scout’s end-of-year ranking in 2023 after winning three races en route to fifth in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. That was his sophomore F3 season and his third year with Campos.

This year was his fifth as a Campos driver, his second racing in Formula 2, and also featured three victories.

Missing the last two rounds, having began pre-season preparations for his recent step up to Formula E, meant Marti came eighth in the standings. But at the point when he dropped off the grid, he was ahead of F1-bound team-mate Arvid Lindblad.

Marti was only 15th fastest in the F2 field for single-lap pace, but across the season he was fourth best on race pace and he finished higher than where he started in 13 out of 23 races. There were four occasions where he gained nine or more places, the first being the Bahrain sprint race where he climbed from 11th place to victory.

He also won the sprint races at the Red Bull Ring and Hungaroring, and his sole feature race podium was at Monza.

47. Liam McNeilly

New entry • Visa issues prevented a likely USF2000 title

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

The 2024 USF Juniors runner-up began 2025 by winning both races and coming 0.0566 seconds shy of a double pole in USF2000’s St. Petersburg season opener. Next time out at NOLA Motorsports Park it was three poles and three victories, then McNeilly headed home to England.

Following that, US state officials deemed his visa invalid. It prevented him from re-entering the country and continuing his season. They did not believe he was a racing driver, despite proof of that fact as multiple parties sought to get his visa approved again, and McNeilly sank to 14th in the standings after missing almost three quarters of the campaign.

There was an opportunity to contest the Canadian event in Toronto a few months later, yet with little to gain now from returning to USF2000, he instead stepped up to USF Pro 2000 for the weekend. He started and finished fifth on his debut, and qualified fourth for race two. That position was kept through the race, and his points-per-race average was the sixth best in the 2025 field.

Even later in the year he made his GB3 debut at Donington Park, with his cameo resulting in a podium.

46. Salvador de Alba

New entry • The fastest junior single-seater driver on ovals in 2025

Photo: Penske Entertainment / Travis Hinkle

Photo: Joe Skibinski

The switch from NASCAR Mexico, where he was champion, to open-wheel racing in 2022 has proven fruitful for Mexican de Alba who has maximised his oval experience in USF Pro 2000 and now Indy Nxt.

His rookie campaign in IndyCar’s primary feeder series last year featured two podiums, both on ovals, and he finished in each of the top four places across this year’s four oval races. There was also pole for the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway, a different kind of challenge compared to other ovals, and it was a result that he came close to achieving earlier in the year.

De Alba was the quickest on absolute pace around ovals, and fourth on race pace, with one victory at the Milwaukee Mile. On road and street courses, he had five top-five finishes and that put him fifth in the standings for a second season in a row.

The 26-year-old was more competitive at every track compared to 2024, showing he’s not stagnated yet in his fourth year of single-seater racing.

45. Roman Bilinski

New entry • Led Rodin to its best ever year in FIA F3

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

The FIA F3 Championship has three-car teams, yet Bilinski scored over half of Rodin Motorsport’s points in 2025.

After three years in Formula Regional, which included a title in New Zealand but only two podiums in Europe and never coming higher than 15th in the championship, Bilinski stepped up to F3 with a point to prove.

Making the podium on his debut and also scoring in the feature race in Melbourne was a strong start, and two rounds later at Imola he netted two top-eight finishes. In the following round in Monaco he topped his qualifying group, which translated into starting and finishing second in the feature race.

At Silverstone he also claimed a double points finish, from row eight of the grid both times. In the feature race he was an impressive fourth, having climbed nine spots on lap one.

Bilinski’s season ended at Monza with a maiden victory in the sprint race, and further points the next day that contributed to 2025 being Rodin’s best ever in FIA F3. It was the most impressive year of his own career, in the first season after a serious injury had threatened to derail it.

44. Alessandro Giusti

Down 17 • Williams junior’s lengthy scoring run was unmatched in F3

Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Giusti’s second place finish in the FIA F3 sprint race at the Red Bull Ring was not only the best result of his rookie season, but marked the end of a remarkable nine-race scoring run. It was a feat nobody else achieved this year.

That podium in Austria followed his third place in the Barcelona feature race, which he started from sixth and marked his best Friday and Sunday results by some margin. But on Saturdays, only three drivers scored more sprint race points in 2025 than Giusti.

When MP had top-10 potential, Giusti tended to do a good job of ensuring that translated into results and when he struggled for pace it mirrored what was happening to more experienced team-mate Tim Tramnitz. The team became less competitive over the course of the year, and in the season’s second half he fell from fifth to 10th in the standings.

43. Ariel Elkin

New entry • Made big leap up ladder and with his performances

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Elkin was buried in Italian F4’s midfield two years ago, then made a sideways step to USF Juniors in 2024 and was fourth in the standings with three wins. He moved two rungs higher on the road to Indy for 2025, racing in USF Pro 2000.

His debut weekend started well by qualifying seventh in St. Petersburg, but he retired in race one after finding a wall and then missed race two.

Following that he was routinely one of the most competitive drivers, winning twice on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course and then on his oval racing debut in assured style in the Freedom 90 around Lucas Oil Raceway.

Although there were only two podiums in the second half of Elkin’s maiden campaign in the third tier of single-seaters, he finished six of those nine races in the top five and that consistency was enough to make him championship runner-up while rivals had more retirements and finishes outside of the top 10.

Later in the year he did two Eurocup-3 rounds, and then made a winning cameo in SMP F4’s winter series in Russia.

42. Jack Jeffers

New entry • Third title from four years on the US single-seater scene

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

There were four drivers with the potential to win the USF2000 title this year, and after McNeilly’s enforced early exit it was sophomore Thomas Schrage who then became the leading driver after taking seven podiums in a row.

After that, rookie Jeffers went on an even more impressive run of eight successive podiums in the last three rounds. That included five victories and three poles, and sent him to what ended up being a comfortably claimed title. He was crowned with a race to spare at Portland, and in the first race there got to have a straight fight with Schrage.

Jeffers finished second in the first three races of the season in St. Petersburg and at NOLA, and took his first win and a third place on IMS’s road course. His sole non-finish was in race one at Road America, which marked the first time he started from pole. The incident that ended his race involved his car going airborne and then into a wall.

Race two the next day was also a low point full of learning, as he started from pole again but lost out in battles, had a wide moment and finished seventh. His only other bad result was on his oval racing debut, as he came ninth in the Freedom 75.

41. Tuukka Taponen

Down 27 • Ferrari junior was ART GP’s top scorer in FIA F3

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

ART Grand Prix’s highest-scoring driver in FIA F3 this year navigated his rookie season well while his team wasn’t always on the pace, and made the top 10 in the standings as a result.

He finished fourth in two of the first three feature races of 2025, and netted a maiden podium in a sprint race during that time, then in Monaco he took his best result of the season by finishing second in the sprint race.

Only one point followed in the next four rounds, meaning Taponen fell from fifth to ninth in the points table, but he bounced back at the Hungaroring with his first feature race podium.

Having qualified 24th then finished 14th and 20th in the season-opening races in Melbourne, Taponen felt ART made a “good step up” for round two at Bahrain where he had his highest-scoring weekend. There were eight races in total which he scored in, fewer than sophomore team-mate Laurens van Hoepen but leading to a greater haul of points.

His results were also far better than his pace metrics for the season, indicating he maximised what he had, having been the 16th best for single-lap pace and 12th best for race pace across the year but with a 46-point feature race haul that was the seventh best in the field.

Written by Ida Wood

The post Formula Scout Top 50 Drivers of 2025: 50-41 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: SMP Karting

Egor Stepanov-Kim closed in on the SMP Formula 4 winter series lead in Sochi last weekend on the circuit’s permanent layout.

In the masters’ class for first-generation F4 cars were Roman Chamkin, SMP Racing’s sports director and chairman of the Russian federation’s karting committee, and later on in the event Sergey Sirotkin too. The ex-Formula 1 driver, who is now championship CEO, competed as a guest.

Points leader Vladimir Verkholantsev set the pace in pre-event testing, a 1m01.669s putting him 0.222 seconds ahead of Stepanov-Kim and 0.289s clear of Platon Kostin. In fifth was Iraeli racer Ariel Elkin, who was USF Pro 2000 runner-up this year and competed in Eurocup-3. During his test mileage, Sirotkin got within a second of Verkholantsev’s pace.

Stepanov-Kim moved to the top in free practice one, posting a 1m01.855s to lead Verkholantsev by 0.453s and Marko Markozov by 0.664s.

Qualifying for race one occurred on Friday morning, and Elkin was quickest but then missed the day’s two races. He pipped Timur Shagaliev by 0.042s and Stepanov-Kim by 0.07s, with Markozov trailing by 0.288s and Kostin by 0.38s. Verkholantsev was only eighth fastest, 1.415s off pole in the red-flagged session.

Stepanov-Kim jumped the start of race one, copping himself a 10s penalty, but it allowed him to get on Shagaliev’s inside through turn one and lead into turn two.

Kostin took third ahead of Markozov, with a gap to the next gaggle of cars. Shagaliev was able to pressure Stepanov-Kim on some laps, and they gapped Kostin who began defending on lap seven.

Markozov went off at turn two trying to pass him, and was on his tail again on lap 11. He remained there through lap 12, and overtook Kostin into turn two on lap 13.

Verkholantsev meanwhile had got into fifth early on, eventually pulled away from the pack behind and was in Kostin’s tow after he lost third. He had a look into the penultimate corner on lap 15, locked up at turn two a lap later, then got the job done there on lap 17.

Up front, Stepanov-Kim built a lead of 2.062s over Shagaliev late on but his penalty demoted him to fourth.

Stepanov-Kim found redemption in race two. Kostin led the way early on, with a gap to Stepanov-Kim and Verkholantsev. That was eradicated on lap nine by Stepanov-Kim, and Kostin’s defensive weaving down the pit straight on lap 11 brought Verkholantsev back into play.

They both cleared him a lap later, with Stepanov-Kim taking the lead into turn six, then pulled away and did not fight each other. It took a few more laps for Kostin to drop into the clutches of Markozov, who was squeezed all the way to turn two on lap 17 but still got through. Kostin immediately reclaimed third, but two laps later went off there fell behind Markozov and Shagaliev.

Verkholantsev was 0.143s faster than Stepanov-Kim at the top of FP2 the next morning, then in Q2 his advantage grew to 0.274s. Elkin was 0.348s off in third, with Markozov and Kostin also within 0.5s of pole.

Elkin made it to the grid this time, but stalled and the safety car was needed through the first two laps as he was wheeled away. Verkholantsev had wheelspin off the line, then lost the lead mid-lap to Stepanov-Kim before the safety car interruption.

The pair ran away after the restart, with Markozov unchallenged for third by Kostin.

Sirotkin joined the action in race four, which had a dramatic opening lap. Kostin took the lead from Shagaliev before turn two, where the reversed-grid polesitter was spun around by Markozov. Later in the lap Markozov had his own off, then he pitted on lap two.

Elkin and Stepanov-Kim overtook Kostin lap two, and the top four spread out until lapped traffic came into play. That put Verkholantsev onto Kostin’s rear, and on lap 19 there was weaving from Kostin as he tried to stay ahead. Verkholantsev locked up into turn two, then pulled off a great move around the outside of turn six to snatch third.

Sirotkin finished sixth, making up six places on lap one then one more mid-race before watching the rear of Maxim Orlov’s car thereon.

For unexplained reasons, all four races did not incorporate lap one into their results and race three’s published results voided the first two laps.

Results round-up
Race 1 (20 laps)
1 Timur Shagaliev ITeCo Racing 21m51.162s
2 Marko Markozov Formula K Russia +4.126s
3 Vladimir Verkholantsev Formula K Russia +6.300s
4 Egor Stepanov-Kim Formula K Russia +7.938s
5 Platon Kostin Lada Sport +9.148s
6 Mikhail Yushenkov NI Racing +14.021s
7 Maxim Orlov ITeCo Racing +16.838s
8 David Pogosyan Teamgaris +41.526s
9 Pavel Abrosimov NI Racing +47.190s
10 Roman Chamkin Formula K Russia +1 lap
Pole: Ariel Elkin, 1m01.865s
Fastest lap: Verkholantsev, 1m01.927s

Race 2 (20 laps)
1 Stepanov-Kim 21m52.160s
2 Verkholantsev +0.895s
3 Markozov +7.409s
4 Shagaliev +8.610s
5 Kostin +9.909s
6 Orlov +11.658s
7 Yushenkov +14.959s
8 Abrosimov +39.567s
9 Pogosyan +1 lap
10 Chamkin +1 lap
FL: Stepanov-Kim, 1m02.134s

Race 3 (18 laps)
1 Stepanov-Kim 21m36.662s
2 Verkholantsev +0.987s
3 Markozov +6.410s
4 Kostin +8.592s
5 Shagaliev +12.462s
6 Yushenkov +16.281s
7 Orlov +16.825s
8 Pogosyan +40.103s
9 Abrosimov +51.214s
10 Lev Guba Formula K Russia +1 lap
P: Verkholantsev, 1m01.411s
FL: Verkholantsev, 1m01.805s

Race 4 (20 laps)
1 Elkin Formula K Russia 21m49.085s
2 Stepanov-Kim +2.836s
3 Verkholantsev +8.276s
4 Kostin +10.370s
5 Orlov +15.328s
6 Sergey Sirotkin Teamgaris +16.315s
7 Yushenkov +22.685s
8 Abrosimov +44.577s
9 Pogosyan +50.895s
10 Guba +1 lap
FL: Elkin, 1m01.844s

Championship standings
1 Verkholantsev 131   2 Stepanov-Kim 123   3 Kostin 89   4 Shagaliev 85   5 Markozov 85   6 Orlov 59   7 Yushenkov 59   8 Elkin 34   9 Abrosimov 33

The post Ex-F1 driver and USFP2000 runner-up cameo in SMP F4 winter series appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Tecnicar Motorsport will make its Eurocup-3 debut at Jerez this weekend, running USF Pro 2000 runner-up Ariel Elkin.

It had previously been announced that Spanish team Tecnicar would join the grid in 2026 when Eurocup-3 goes from being a Formula Regional-based series to a third-tier competition by introducing the Dallara 326 chassis.

Elkin, 18, came fourth in USF Juniors last year then leapt up to the third-tier USFP2000 for 2025. As a rookie he claimed three victories, three poles and will likely test an Indy Nxt car in the off-season as he evaluates where to race next year.

Alan Orzynski, currently second in the Formula 4-spec Skip Barber Formula Race Series, will become the fifth different driver this year to race Drivex School’s #15 entry in Eurocup-3 at Jerez, while Palou Motorsport is without Luciano Morano (who is yet to score this season) and has replaced him with Brazilian F4 points leader Heitor Dall’Agnol.

In the supporting Spanish F4 championship, there are also line-up changes for this weekend. Drivex’s other #15 car will appear for the third time this season, and will be driven by Rafaela Ferreira.

The 20-year-old Brazilian was fourth in her home F4 championship last year, and this year has been driving for Campos Racing in Europe. She came 24th in the Formula Winter Series standings as a part-timer, and is currently 11th in the all-female F1 Academy championship.

TC Racing is without Santiago Baztarrica, who sits 20th in the points table, and its three-car line-up will be completed by Brazilian driver Rogerio Grotta. He was seventh in Brazilian F4 last year, winning one race, and is currently ninth in the 2025 standings after two rounds.

The post Tecnicar makes early Eurocup-3 debut with USFP2000 star Ariel Elkin appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Ariel Elkin reduced Max Garcia’s USF Pro 2000 points lead by winning the Freedom 90 at Lucas Oil Raceway.

The 90-lapper, held on Friday night, is the season’s sole oval race and drivers warmed up for it with a daytime practice session.

Pabst Racing’s Garcia set a 19.8905s late on to pip TJ Speed’s Elkin by 0.0393 seconds, with Velocity Racing Development’s Max Taylor 0.048s and Turn 3 Motorsport’s Nicholas Monteiro 0.0676s off top spot.

In sixth was Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark, who had qualified on pole. After crashing in qualifying, Jay Howard Driver Development did a rebuild to ensure Tanner DeFabis could start the race.

DEForce Racing’s Jorge Garciarce went a lap down instantly, as he failed to get going when the pace car led the field into action.

Green flags waved on lap two, and Elkin picked the high line exiting turn one to get alongside Clark. He edged ahead through the last corner, briefly lost control of his car but avoided hitting both the wall and Clark to take the lead.

Clark had his own loose moment in his wake on lap four, but he remained within 1.3s of Elkin through the first 20 laps. By that point Elkin had already lapped series veteran Charles Finelli, who had started seventh but dropped to the back on lap one.

Elkin had a far easier time lapping cars than Clark, and by lap 37 had already put Pabst’s 10th-placed Jacob Douglas a lap down.

Soon there were drivers two laps back, and Elkin was over four seconds clear of Clark. On lap 48 a caution period was required as Exclusive’s Joey Brienza crashed into the barriers at turn four.

Racing resumed on lap 58 with three lapped cars between Elkin and Clark, who was quickly lost second to Turn 3’s Alessandro de Tullio.

Douglas then stubbornly kept his line ahead of Clark, and the laps wasted trying to lap him meant the top two built a big gap.

Elkin put 2.6s between himself and de Tullio, before the gap was whittled down to 1.2s in the final laps.

Garcia finished fourth, and for much of the race there was a train slightly further back consisting of Taylor, Monteiro, Turn 3’s Brady Golan, Douglas and Pabst’s Michael Costello.

Golan passed Costello on lap 11, and Douglas pulled off a great pass on him on lap 19. Costello reclaimed a spot on lap 28, and on lap 30 Golan went to the inside of Monteiro at turn one for sixth. Monteiro responded a lap later, and Golan got the move done again on lap 39.

They continued to battle until the caution period, and after that Golan swiftly cleared Taylor while Costello jumped ahead of Monteiro. Costello then overtook Taylor on lap 70, who was later lapped by Elkin, with Monteiro also getting by and they ran side-by-side late on until Monteiro got ahead for sixth on the penultimate lap.

DeFabis went on a charging drive to 10th, taking 32 laps to get into 11th then spending a long time trying to pass TJ Speed’s Jace Denmark.

Race results (90 laps)

The post Elkin boosts USFP2000 title ambitions with assured Freedom 90 victory appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Jacob Douglas and Ariel Elkin won two more eventful USF Pro 2000 races on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Having already triumphed in a chaotic opening race on Friday, TJ Speed’s Elkin kept the lead from pole position at the start of race two while Douglas went deep in turn one and dropped from second to fourth behind Max Taylor and Mac Clark.

Clark got up to second before the end of the lap, with Taylor trying to fight back into turn one but getting edged wide onto the grass.

After a caution for an incident involving Michael Costello and Sebastian Manson, Elkin retained the lead despite being challenged by Clark and Douglas.

Another caution followed after Carson Etter spun off, and Clark again challenged for the lead at the restart but went deep. Douglas capitalised, first getting inside Taylor and then going around the outside of Clark to regain second.

Elkin spent the next two laps defending from Douglas, with Taylor taking advantage to repass Douglas around the outside at the end of the back straight.

With five laps to go, Taylor braked late down the inside of Elkin into turn one and both cars ended up on the grass. Elkin would fall to fifth while Taylor spun down the order, finishing up 10th.

Douglas picked up the lead and clinched his maiden series win ahead of Clark, while points leader Max Garcia won a late battle with Jace Denmark for third.

Elkin retained the lead once more at the start of race three with chaos ensuing in his wake. Fellow front-row starter Douglas found himself sandwiched in turn one between Taylor on his inside and Alessandro de Tullio on his outside, the Turn 3 Motorsport driver attempting to sweep into second place having started seventh.

Contact was made between Douglas and Taylor that then pitched Douglas into de Tullio, with Clark left with nowhere to go.

Seeing his four closest championship challengers tangle together in front of him, Garcia somehow avoided them to move into second, but lost that place to Frankie Mossman on the restart. On another restart that followed soon afterwards, Mossman locked up and went very deep, losing several places.

A couple of laps later, Garcia ran side-by-side with Elkin for the lead through the opening turns but to no avail. He hen nosed ahead down the pit straight only for Elkin to brake later on the inside to keep the lead.

Next time around, Garcia got fully ahead down the main straight to claim the apex, but Elkin managed to hang around the outside of turn one and get back up the inside of turn two. Garcia then took contact from the recovering Mossman into turn four, and rebounded into Manson on his outside.

Mossman continued in second place but received a drive-through penalty, while Garcia started to fight his way back from 10th.

Elkin was untroubled to the finish, winning by 4.376s over Cooper Becklin, who avoided the chaos from 11th on the grid. Michael Costello completed the podium.

Garcia got up into fourth past Nicholas Monteiro, only to be ordered to hand the place back as a penalty for blocking. He lost out in that process to the recovering Clark, but repassed him before the end and finished just 0.03s behind team-mate Costello.

Results round-up

Race 2 (25 laps)
1 Jacob Douglas Pabst Racing 38m02.9393s
2 Mac Clark Exclusive Autosport +0.7223s
3 Max Garcia Pabst Racing +5.7313s
4 Jace Denmark TJ Speed +7.2802s
5 Ariel Elkin TJ Speed +8.2932s
6 Frankie Mossman Velocity Racing Development +8.8649s
7 Nicholas Monteiro Turn 3 Motorsport +9.4137s
8 Joey Brienza Exclusive Autosport +10.5850s
9 Tanner DeFabis Jay Howard Driver Development +11.9062s
10 Max Taylor Velocity Racing Development +12.2101s
Fastest lap: Alessandro de Tullio, Turn 3 Motorsport, 1m21.3649s

Race 3 (25 laps)
1 Elkin 39m21.0162s
2 Cooper Becklin Turn 3 Motorsport +4.3760s
3 Michael Costello Pabst Racing +5.3377s
4 Garcia +5.3671s
5 Clark +7.5729s
6 Monteiro +9.4486s
7 Sebastian Manson TJ Speed +15.5438s
8 DeFabis +17.5084s
9 Owen Tangavelou DEForce Racing +18.7735s
10 Brienza +19.2391s
FL: Douglas, 1m22.1430s

Championship standings
1 Garcia 202   2 de Tullio 145   3 Elkin 143   4 Clark 140   5 Douglas 123   6 Taylor 121   7 Costello 108   8 Denmark 97   9 Monteiro 90   10 Becklin 88

The post Douglas and Elkin win amid more USF Pro 2000 chaos at Indianapolis appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

TJ Speed’s Ariel Elkin won a chaotic first race of USF Pro 2000’s triple-header on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.

The Israeli started on pole alongside Velocity Racing Development’s Max Taylor, with Pabst Racing’s Jacob Douglas and points leader Max Garcia on row two of the grid.

It was three-wide for third place going into the opening corner of the race, while Douglas made a big lock-up as he tried to go around the outside of Elkin for the lead. He went off and rejoined in second, as VRD’s Frankie Mossman lost his front wing and had to pit.

Taylor ended lap one in third ahead of Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark and Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio, and shortly after a caution period was called for so Mossman’s wing could be retrieved from the turn one run-off.

Racing resumed on lap five, and Douglas made it look easy as he dived down the inside of Elkin at turn one. He concluded the lap 0.65 seconds ahead, and was a second clear by lap seven. The gap between the top two sat at 1.36s when a second caution period began on lap 11 due to DEForce Racing’s Owen Tangavelou stopping off-track near turn seven.

Mossman pitted again, this time for fresh tyres, and the next restart came on lap 14 of 25. At this point Pabst’s Michael Costello was fifth, having passed de Tullio on lap six, and Garcia had gone from his lap two position of ninth back up to seventh by passing TJ Speed’s Sebastian Manson and Jace Denmark.

Taylor went deep on the restart, and Clark tried to get his nose alongside at turn two but then had to spend the rest of that lap and the next defending. Douglas had a turn seven lock-up on lap 15, then slowed at the final corner. He did the same on the next two laps, then pitted on lap 18 after having fallen right down the field.

Elkin took the lead back, as title contender de Tullio picked up damage that sent him down the order then into the pits. Exclusive’s Carson Etter also pitted with suspected technical issues.

Turn 3’s debutant Brady Golan had made it into the top 10 but then crashed out at turn one on lap 19, causing another caution period. The final restart came on lap 21, and Taylor took too much speed into turn one. He slid through the corner and Clark passed him at turn two, as Costello watched on behind.

Garcia got into fifth via a three-way move with Turn 3’s Nicholas Monteiro and Denmark, and Mossman was up to eighth before pitting again.

Elkin kept Clark behind thereon for his maiden win, and Garcia passed Costello on the penultimate lap to further grow his points lead over de Tullio. He rejoined the field to gain some places, despite being three laps down, and similarly Douglas had a second trip to the pits so finished a lapped 14th.

Race results (25 laps)

The post TJ Speed’s Ariel Elkin wins chaotic USF Pro 2000 opener at Indianapolis appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Ariel Elkin narrowly beat Max Taylor to pole for the first USF Pro 2000 race of the weekend on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.

Qualifying took place in warm conditions, with 20 minutes of green flag action that drivers could make use of.

Elkin was already quickest five minutes in, the TJ Speed driver setting a 1m21.4288s to lead Pabst Racing’s Max Garcia by 0.3845 seconds.

Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark was just behind Garcia in third, and Velocity Racing Development’s new signing Frankie Mossman sat fourth before being shuffled down to seventh a few minutes later.

Elkin improved to 1m20.9846s to stay on top, and VRD’s Max Taylor set a 1m21.3321s to move into second by 0.0506s over Garcia. Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio climbed into fourth, then posted a 1m21.2627s to gain another spot as Pabst’s Michael Costello moved into the position he previously held with a lap just 0.0093s slower than his. At the same time, Garcia beat Elkin by 0.0243s.

Clark set a 1m21.2588s eight minutes in to return to third, and the order then stabilised.

A 1m21.2221s put Taylor ahead of Clark with just under six minutes to go of qualifying, and on his next lap he improved to 1m20.9095s to provisionally claim pole. His rivals had four minutes to respond, and the next new personals to be set came from Costello and Pabst’s Jacob Douglas in fourth and fifth. But Taylor had found even more pace, lowering the benchmark laptime to 1m20.712s.

Elkin moved back ahead with 2m40s left on the clock, and his 1m20.6432s effort secured him pole. Mossman set a 1m21.1584s to move up to fourth, but with just over two minutes to go he was demoted by a 1m20.8004s lap from Douglas that earned him third.

After the chequered flag waved, de Tullio set a 1m20.938s to also beat Mossman, while Garcia consolidated his fourth place by improving to 1m20.8622s.

Qualifying results

The post Elkin edges Taylor at Indianapolis to USF Pro 2000 race one pole appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Jace Denmark left it late to secure his place on the 2025 USF Pro 2000 grid, as he was announced as joining TJ Speed six days before the season begins.

The 20-year-old joins the Australian-owned team after two seasons with Pabst Racing, and will likely be a title favourite for this campaign.

In 2023 he came seventh in the standings with three podiums and a pole, then last year he was third in the championship. Although he failed to win, he claimed another pole and was on the podium nine times.

“I’m incredibly grateful to Tim [Neff, team owner], TJ Speed, and all my partners who have helped make this programme possible,” Denmark explained.

“My ultimate goal in 2025 was to secure a seat in Indy Nxt, but after some testing, it became clear that my budget wouldn’t allow for a competitive ride. I reached out to some key people in motorsport, reconnected with Tim —whom I had spoken to in the past about racing with — and together we worked out a deal that gives me the chance to compete in 2025.”

While he has not been able to make it into Indy Nxt, Denmark has become a development driver for Indy Nxt team HMD Motorsports. He will work with them on non-clashing weekends against his USFP2000 commitments, and plans to race for HMD in 2026.

Also recently announced as part of TJ Speed’s line-up is Ariel Elkin. The 17-year-old Israeli came 17th in Italian Formula 4 two years ago with a best finish of seventh, and he made the podium in a United States F4 cameo.

Last year he raced two steps below USFP2000 in USF Juniors, and came fourth in the standings with three victories and four poles. He was also fourth in the Motorsport Games F4 event.

Turn 3 Motorsport now has five drivers signed for 2025, although its two latest additions are only confirmed for the St. Petersburg season opener.

Titus Sherlock, 20, was the 2021 Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series runner-up, came eighth in USF Juniors in 2022, was 2023 US F4 runner-up and came fourth in Formula Regional Americas last year. He won five races during the year, and was only a few points off being runner-up in yet another championship.

His one-off team-mate will be Elliot Cox, who is 17 and has spent the last two years in USF2000. In 2024 he came sixth in the standings and made the podium three times.

The post Denmark commits to staying in USFP2000 after missing out on Indy Nxt appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Max Taylor, Ariel Elkin and Sebastian Wheldon took a victory apiece in USF Juniors’ round at Road America.

Teams took to the track on Friday for three pre-event test sessions, and the fastest laptimes came in the first one. Jay Howard Driver Development’s Liam McNeilly set a 2m15.491s to lead Velocity Racing Development’s Max Taylor by 0.007 seconds.

DEForce Racing’s Bruno Ribeiro session two-topping 2m15.505s lap put him third overall, ahead of Exclusive Autosport’s Evan Cooley and VRD’s Sebastian Wheldon. Ribeiro also topped session three.

Cooley was quickest in the single practice session on Saturday, setting a 2m15.045s to lead International Motorsport’s Augusto Soto-Schirripa and Wheldon by a tiny 0.005s and 0.063s respectively.

McNeilly was 0.236s behind in fourth and Taylor was 0.4s off the pace in seventh but improved to 2m14.723s in qualifying to take race one pole by 0.159s over Wheldon. McNeilly was a further 0.137s behind, and International Motorsport’s Ariel Elkin was fourth fastest.

Qualifying 20th for his debut was Brenden Cooley, brother of Evan (who was sixth fastest) and son of Joshua Cooley who is a co-owner of the Exclusive team. One place behind him was International Motorsport’s Hudson Potter, who has switched teams from JHDD, and one place ahead was Michael Boyiadzis who has taken over Potter’s old seat.

In 23rd was JHDD’s debuting Griffin Yellin, who is currently 10th in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series.

The top four held their positions on the opening lap of race one, then on lap two Elkin went down the inside of Wheldon at turn one and McNeilly went wide at turn five. Elkin made a pass but went off at Canada Corner and rejoined at the back.

Taylor and Wheldon broke away up front, and he began lap five fending off Wheldon while McNeilly resisted Evan Cooley for third. There was big contact between Ribeiro and JHDD’s G3 Argyros at turn eight, and red flags waved as their cars were cleared.

Racing restarted with a lap behind the pace car, and when green flags waved there was briefly a three-wide lead battle. Wheldon and McNeilly then made contact, but Wheldon briefly held the lead before Taylor got past again. McNeilly spun down the order on the penultimate lap, with Jack Jeffers having to go way off to avoid him.

It resulted in Taylor extending his points lead as he won by 1.808s over Soto=Schirripa, and behind was a finish line wreck as Brady Golan and team-mate Rodrigo Gonzalez were elimiinated

Cooley did finish fourth but a penalty for avoidable contact with mcNeilly dropped him to 15th.

It was a similar story in race two, involving the same drivers, but this time Elkin won. Wheldon’s second-best lap in qualifying put him on pole ahead of McNeilly and Taylor, but Elkin got into second on lap one and there was a three-wide lead battle starting lap two.

Taylor got ahead before another wheel-to-wheel battle down the pit straight that ended in contact with Wheldon and put Jeffers into the lead. He was soon passed by Elkin as a lead group of nine formed, and Wheldon was back ahead by lap six. He built a gap before a caution period caused by Potter going off, and on the restart Soto-Schirripa took second while McNeilly plummeted down the order following contact with Wheldon.

Soto-Schirripa then passed Elkin, but he reclaimed the lead at the finish for his third win of 2024.

Wheldon and Soto-Schirripa were second and third on-the-road but penalties for avoidable contact and blocking dropped them to 18th and 13th respectively.

Taylor finished sixth and set the fastest lap, putting him on pole for race three. Once again there was plenty of side-by-side action up front, and Jeffers spun off at turn one on lap two which led to a brief caution period to get his car back on track.

The field was led by Taylor for the restart, but in a three-wide move Elkin got ahead before a collision got the race red flagged. Racing resumed on lap seven and there was plenty of passing. Elkin kept the lead, Wheldon was passed but got back into second, and Michael Suco spun on lap eight.

Wheldon then got to the front of a four-car train, with Elkin going off as he tried to pass him but being more successful on his second attempt. Approaching the finish, Wheldon almost drove into the back of him but squeezed past for the win, as Taylor ran ahead of McNeilly just behind.

Results round-up
Race 1 (10 laps)
1 Max Taylor Velocity Racing Development 30m51.725s
2 Augusto Soto-Schirripa International Motorsport +1.808s
3 Jack Jeffers Exclusive Autosport +3.790s
4 Joao Vergara Exclusive Autosport +5.705s
5 Leonardo Escorpioni Exclusive Autosport +5.890s
6 Timothy Carel JHDD +6.063s
7 Diego Guiot Zanella Racing +7.017s
8 Sebastian Wheldon Velocity Racing Development +7.338s
9 Patricio Gonzalez DEForce Racing +7.409s
10 Brady Golan DEForce Racing +7.794s
Pole: Taylor, 2m14.723s
Fastest lap: Wheldon, 2m15.765s

Race 2 (10 laps)
1 Ariel Elkin International Motorsport 24m44.483s
2 G3 Argyros JHDD +0.636s
3 Jeffers +1.378s
4 Evan Cooley Exclusive Autosport +1.598s
5 Escorpioni +3.693s
6 Taylor +4.645s
7 Vergara +4.669s
8 Jeshua Alianell DEForce Racing +4.810s
9 Golan +4.917s
10 Carel +5.017s
P: Wheldon, 2m14.892s
FL: Taylor, 2m14.571s

Race 3 (10 laps)
1 Wheldon 37m23.092s
2 Elkin +0.045s
3 Taylor +0.281s
4 Liam McNeilly JHDD +0.398s
5 Argyros +3.790s
6 Christian Cameron Velocity Racing Development +3.868s
7 Escorpioni +3.984s
8 Guiot +4.310s
9 Carel +4.413s
10 Golan +4.588s
FL: Wheldon, 2m16.239s

Championship standings
1 Taylor 281   2 Elkin 241   3 Wheldon 236   4 McNeilly 231   5 Jeffers 209   6 Soto-Schirripa 201   7 Argyros 150   8 Vergara 130   9 Escorpioni 123   10 Bruno Ribeiro 109

The post Taylor, Elkin and Wheldon share USF Juniors wins at Road America appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

International Motorsport’s Ariel Elkin took another lights-to-flag win in USF Juniors race two at Barber Motorsports Park.

His mirrors were filled for most of the race by Velocity Racing Development’s Sebastian Wheldon, who grew his championship lead to seven points by finishing second.

The second-best laptimes from qualifying set the grid, and Elkin earned pole by 0.168 seconds over Exclusive Autosport’s Jack Jeffers. Wheldon qualified third, ahead of title rival Liam McNeilly (Jay Howard Driver Development), Leandro Juncos and Bruno Ribeiro (both DEForce Racing).

A violent crash in the previous race that damaged his car meant Ribeiro was unable to make it to the grid, nor was JHDD’s Ava Dobson or Exclusive’s Anthony Martella.

Elkins repeated his race one trick of mastering the rolling start, as Jeffers came under immediate pressure and was already out of the race following an incident at turn five that also sent McNeilly down the order.

A caution period was required on lap two to recover Jeffers’ car, and Wheldon ran second ahead of Elkin’s team-mate Augusto Soto-Schirripa, Juncos and Exclusive’s Evan Cooley on the lap four restart. Cooley overcooked it at turn five and dropped to seventh behind VRD’s Max Taylor and Zanella Racing’s Leonardo Escorpioni, while Elkin pulled away again.

The pace car was back out the next lap as Escorpioni crashed out at turn five, and his time racing did not resume until lap nine. There was drama at the same corner, with DEForce’s Brady Golan going off after contact and dropping down the order but managing to stay in the race.

Juncos passed Soto-Schirripa for third at turn five on lap 10, then there was a much calmer second half to the race. The gap between the top two sat between 0.35 and 0.44 seconds, with Wheldon never daring to attempt a pass.

Soto-Schirripa got back past Juncos on lap 13 of 20 and held the position, while the battle for fifth fell back. Joao Vergara came to challenge Taylor, and passed him on lap 10. But a lap later Taylor and Cooley demoted Vergara after some frantic side-by-side action.

There was change again on lap 12, as Cooley ran into the back of Taylor and with front wing damage then went off at turn seven and rejoined near the back. Taylor escaped, Vergara reclaimed seventh but then came under pressure from Teddy Musella due to the lapped Golan getting in his way.

Ayden Ingratta and Patricio Gonzalez also managed to demote Rodrigo Gonzalez to 10th after he also found Golan in his way.

Race result (20 laps)

The post Elkin wins again at Barber but Wheldon grows USF Juniors lead appeared first on Formula Scout.