Photo: Red Bull

Every year, some of junior single-seaters’ top drivers are handed professional opportunities. Some lead to long-term careers in sportscars, while others try out the more cut-throat world of F1 and IndyCar

In addition to annually ranking the top 50 drivers in junior single-seater racing since 2011, Formula Scout also recognises the achievements of the very best of those who ‘graduate’ into the world of professional racing each year.

After making his Formula 1 debut in last year’s season finale, Jack Doohan began 2025 with a full-time seat at Alpine but he only lasted six race weekends before being demoted back to the reserve driver role he had spent the previous two years in.

His replacement was Franco Colapinto, who had starred in his surprise step up to F1 in 2024 when he joined Williams for the final third of the season. He scored five points in nine races, while in 2025 he went points-free and had several costly crashes. Alpine was uncompetitive at most events, and Colapinto was thoroughly outshone by team-mate Pierre Gasly. He initially raced with a five-round deal, then held the seat race-by-race before Alpine committed at the end of the European leg of the season to keeping Colapinto in the car for the rest of 2025. By November, the seat was then retained for 2026 too.

In IndyCar, Jacob Abel realised his dream of being on the grid by leaving his family’s Abel Motorsports team after eight years with them. He joined Dale Coyne Racing, whose place in the pecking order was up and down during the season, but the 2024 Indy Nxt runner-up failed to make a mark at the top level. He was in the top 20 in just one qualifying session and two races.

Seita Nonaka somehow pieced together a near-complete rookie campaign in Super Formula. He started off with Team Impul at Suzuka, then raced for KCMG at Twin Ring Motegi where he finished eighth in race two to claim his only points.

After missing the next round, he returned to the grid in TGM Grand Prix’s line-up for the remaining events and set the fastest lap in the season’s third race at Fuji Speedway. Despite handling his team switches well, Nonaka didn’t turn his four seasons of Super Formula Lights experience into big results like other SF rookies have been capable of and was 17th in the standings.

Photo: KCMG

The driver he replaced at TGM GP was fellow Toyota junior Hibiki Taira, who did four races with Impul in 2024 and scored two points as well as racing a lot in sportscars. His 2025 SF campaign began so weak he was demoted to a reserve driver role.

After being a reserve driver for an F1 and a Formula E team in 2024, Zane Maloney didn’t continue with either in 2025 to pursue a race seat in FE with Lola Yamaha Abt. It resulted in coming a points-free last in the championship.

Roy Nissany became the most experienced driver in the history of second-tier single-seater racing in 2023, then was out of action last year. He returned to racing in 2025 in the European Le Mans Series, and came 15th in his first campaign racing prototype sportscars. His team-mate for the first three races was Francesco Simonazzi, with the 2024 Euroformula runner-up also doing three races in International GT Open which put him 27th in the standings.

Eligible for this list until June, when he returned to junior single-seaters, was Joseph Loake. As can often be the case, his career lost momentum when he stepped up from Britain’s racing scene to the FIA Formula 3 Championship last year and scored eight points to sit 26th in the table. Prior to that he had won a touring car title, starred in British Formula 4 and come third in GB3, and this year his main programme was with Garage 59 in GT World Challenge Europe’s Enduro rounds.

At what can be considered the top level of GT racing (a status several championships can put a claim on), Loake was Monza Three Hours runner-up, went second fastest in his qualifying session at the Spa 24 Hours before his team-mate Marvin Kirchhofer put their McLaren 720S GT3 Evo on pole, then finished that race in sixth. That crew, completed by Kirchhofer’s fellow McLaren factory driver Benjamin Goethe, ended the season an impressive seventh in the Endurance Cup standings.

Clearly with an eye still on an open-wheel dream, despite earning McLaren’s backing in sportscars, Loake made a USF Pro 2000 cameo at Road America and finished fifth on debut in North American single-seaters’ third tier.

As none of the names in bold made the cut, here is Formula Scout’s Class of 2024… Key Wins (W), poles (P), fastest laps (FL)

10. Levente Revesz HUNGARY 20y/o
Int. GT Open champion (4 W, 1 P, 1 FL), 9th in 24H Series Middle East Trophy – GT3 class   2024: 5th in Euroformula (1 W, 2 FL)   2023: 9th in Euroformula (1 W), 25th in FRegional Europe & FRegional Middle East

Photo: Fotospeedy

Some drivers become far more competitive with a switch of disciplines, as proven by Revesz in a canny career move this year.

He was a backmarker throughout his single-seater career, scoring 15 points across 92 races in five championships over three years, until he stepped up to the third-tier Euroformula championship for the last three rounds of its 2023 season.

By then the championship utterly lacked depth, and was ruled by German outfit Motopark which was propping up the entry list but also dominating with ease. Since Revesz joined the grid with Motopark, and he was in an eight-car field, he was able to take a win and two other podiums.

That prompted him to stick about for 2024 with the team, and against a similarly uninspiring opposition he claimed one win and seven other podiums before dropping off the grid with two rounds to go. By then Motopark had also become a top team in the International GT Open championship, which like Euroformula is promoted by GT Sport.

Revesz moved into its GT squad for 2025, and he unlocked far more performance than ever before as he won four races in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo he co-drove and was crowned champion.

9. Syun Koide JAPAN 26y/o
11th in Super GT, 16th in Super Formula   2024: Super Formula Lights champion

Photo: Super Formula

Photo: Super Formula Lights

By Honda’s reckoning, Koide has not done enough to earn a second season in SF but his rookie campaign with B-MAX Racing still had highlights. And while his team is certainly a heavyweight in junior single-seaters, as proven by Koide’s own march to the 2024 SF Lights title with them, it isn’t at the top level where it only runs one car.

Koide started his SF career by qualifying seventh for his first race at Suzuka, a track he has never been strong at historically. That impressive result was thrown away at the start as he limped off the line and dropped to last. After the first safety car period he was gapped by the rest of the field, but in the race’s second half he rose to 14th place.

The next day he qualified 12th, and had a far better race. Two places were lost at the start, but he gained those back and two more with a lengthy first stint. He utilised his fresher tyres to then pass Kamui Kobayashi, before a penalty lifted him to eighth.

Two 14th places at Twin Ring Motegi followed, then Koide was off the pace and got a penalty at Autopolis. He bounced back by qualifying 11th for race one at Fuji Speedway, but another slow start set up an opening lap in which he gained and lost places. By lap four he had been shuffled down to 18th, and after pitting early he only made it back up to 15th.

A very similar thing occurred the next day, consigning Koide to 17th. Sportsland Sugo was very different, as Koide set the pace in free practice one. But in qualifying a totally avoidable kerb-riding moment caused damage that meant he stopped a few moments later and triggered red flags. From last place, he climbed up to 13th in the race.

Koide had top-10 potential on the return to Fuji but qualified 13th, and despite heavy rain meaning the race ran entirely behind the safety car he was able to fall to last on lap two. Race two, which Koide qualified ninth for, was cancelled due to fog.

That meant the final round at Suzuka became a triple-header, and opening lap action proved to be Koide’s biggest weakness again until the last race. A great launch lifted him from 12th to ninth, he made two further places during the lap then after his pitstop dropped him to 10th he made two overtakes on a safety car restart before scoring points in ninth.

8. Gabriel Bortoleto BRAZIL 21y/o
19th in F1   2024: F2 champion (2 W, 2 P, 2 FL)   2023: FIA F3 champion (2 W, 1 P, 3 FL)

Photo: Sauber Group

Bortoleto’s career accelerated on F1’s support bill, winning the FIA F3 and Formula 2 titles back-to-back and being picked up by Sauber to race in F1 this year.

While the memorable moments of his rookie campaign were mostly crashes, including a 57G shunt on home soil, he still shone on the most competitive stage of all and was the lead Sauber driver at the chequered flag in 10 grands prix.

Bortoleto had spent 2023 and ’24 as a McLaren junior, so was familiar with F1 simulators and facilities, but since it was a different team he debuted with there was plenty of learning to do surrounding its working methods.

It was clear that chief technical officer Mattia Binotto [pictured above] had a lot of faith in Bortoleto’s abilities and when Sauber was at its strongest he was consistently progressing to Q2 and even making it to Q3 three times. This included outqualifying Fernando Alonso, who helms the A14 Management firm which oversees Bortoleto’s career.

The unfamiliar tracks after F1’s European leg unsurprisingly led to a dip in form, but he still scored a point in Mexico City.

Bortoleto raced without the pressure of fighting for his future, since he was signed on a two-year deal, but staying out of trouble when fighting for positions is still an area needing improvement so not to add to his crash count.

7. Zak O’Sullivan ENGLAND 20y/o
15th in SF, 3rd in Super GT – GT300 class (1 W, 1 FL)   2024: 16th in F2 (2 W, 1 FL)   2023: 2nd in FIA F3 Championship (4 W, 1 P, 3 FL)

Photo: Super Formula

In addition to being Envision Racing’s simulator driver in FE, O’Sullivan joined Toyota’s ranks to race in SF this year.

Despite being a Williams junior and having been called up to drive in an F1 practice session while still in F3, a funding issue cut O’Sullivan’s rookie F2 season short in 2024. He had won the feature race in Monaco and a shortened Spa-Francorchamps sprint race, but was actually one of the slowest in the field on race pace and lacked consistency.

SF was a totally different challenge, including a language barrier, on tracks he was totally new to. But O’Sullivan adapted instantly by qualifying 10th on debut and finishing that race in eighth.

He failed to finish in race two at Suzuka, but at Motegi he rose from 14th to 12th in race one, then from 13th to 11th in race two, and at Autopolis he qualified eighth. He saved his car from spinning as it squirreled while he went up the gears at the race’s start, which briefly dropped him to 11th, and was up to fourth when he crashed out before making his required pitstop.

Fuji was a low point for pace, qualifying no higher than 19th and therefore not being in contention for points, but in race one he was faster than Kondo Racing team-mate Kenta Yamashita as he rose to 14th. His potential was shown far better at Sugo, where he qualified eighth then finished seventh in the wet.

He applied what he had learned on the return to Fuji, and utilised his wet-weather prowess, to net an 11th place finish.

In the Suzuka finale there was a huge crash in race one, he could do little from from the back of race two’s grid, and it was a similar story in race three. Meanwhile in Super GT, which marked his first foray into sportscars and in a car shared with an inexperienced team-mate, O’Sullivan took a win and a second place en route to third in the GT300 class standings.

For a total newcomer to Japanese racing, and in SF’s pitstop era, it was a year to be proud of.

6. Jamie Chadwick ENGLAND 27y/o
3rd in European Le Mans Series (3 W), DNF in Le Mans 24H   2024: 7th in Indy Nxt (1 W, 1 P)   2023: 12th in Indy Nxt

Photo: Javier Jimenez

Chadwick’s victory in Indy Nxt last year showed how much she had developed since her rookie season in 2023, but she changed trajectory for 2025 by joining IDEC Sport in the European Le Mans Series. She was partnered with Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella, both established GT racers but rookies in the LMP2 prototype class they were entering.

The trio started fifth for their debut at Barcelona (which like all races was four hours long), and were down to 11th at one point but made their way to the front and finished second. They then won at Paul Ricard, despite ending a wet opening lap in 14th. There was plenty of early drama, and Chadwick rose to fifth before handing over as the track became more treacherous.

It was an up-and-down race at Imola, where the crew spent time in the lead but then quickly ended up a lap down, returned to the lead lap then fell several laps behind. The trio lost a lot of time in traffic, but Chadwick did best at not losing places.

At Spa-Francorchamps, she ran fifth until two pitstops during a virtual safety car period. Prolonged interruptions meant no opportunities to recover places, and after her stint ended the crew’s race got harder and they finished 18th.

On home soil at Silverstone an early pitstop put Chadwick in 15th, and she recovered to 11th before the driver changes began and more places were gained. Her team-mates took the car further up the order to a win that revitalised their title hopes. At the Algarve finale. Chadwick lost second place on lap one, cannily reclaimed it a few laps later while lapping traffic then was shuffled down to fifth. Not long before being swapped out, she took fourth in a dramatic moment she triggered. While a fourth podium was claimed, with their title rivals ahead it meant IDEC’s trio came third in the standings.

Chadwick also drove the car at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and ran sixth in class during her double stint. IDEC competed in collaboration with Genesis Magma Racing, which has signed Chadwick as reserve driver for its Hypercar squad next year.

5. Louis Foster ENGLAND 22y/o
23rd in IndyCar (1 P)   2024: Indy Nxt champion (8 W, 7 P, 7 FL)   2023: 4th in Indy Nxt (2 W, 4 P, 2 FL), 12th in FRegional Oceania (1 W, 4 FL)

Photo: Chris Jones

Photo: RLLR

IndyCar’s Rookie of the Year may have only come 23rd in the standings, as one of only three full-time drivers without a top-10 finish, but he also claimed a pole, led three races and impressed Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing enough to land a multi-year contract extension.

The championship rivals F1 for its strength in depth, physical intensity, variety of circuits and onus on experience, and Foster had two full-time team-mates who already had 328 starts between them so had plenty of knowledge to lean on.

He qualified 16th for his debut, but retired in a lap one collision, so round two at The Thermal Club marked his first exposure to tyre durability in race conditions. Foster started 10th, way ahead of his team-mates, and ran in eighth early on before he lost pace and drifted down the order with each stint until he was a lapped 24th. It was an important day of learning.

Qualifying was Foster’s strength everywhere but ovals, as he started in the top 10 for six races on road and street courses but on average qualified 19th for oval races.

On Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course he qualified third and finished 11th, his joint-best race result which was repeated at Road America where he took pole and was almost a second quicker than team-mate Graham Rahal in sixth. At Mid-Ohio he finished 14th from sixth on the grid, and also made the top 10 in Toronto and at Laguna Seca.

Foster’s tally of 14 finishes from 17 races was a better record than seven drivers in the field, and he was the leading RLLR driver across the line in four races including the second one around the Iowa Speedway oval.

The 2024 Indy Nxt champion’s best oval race in IndyCar was his first: the Indianapolis 500. He qualified 20th, ran as high as sixth, and finished on the lead lap in 12th.

4. Igor Fraga BRAZIL/JAPAN 27y/o
6th in SF (1 W, 2 FL), 18th in Super GT – GT300 class   2024: NC in Super GT – GT300 class   2023: 4th in SF Lights (1 W, 1 P, 1 FL), 23rd in Super GT – GT300 class

Photo: Super Formula

Formerly an esports star, a Formula Regional champion and a Red Bull junior, Fraga returned to real-world racing two years ago and came fourth in SF Lights with one win and 23rd in Super GT’s GT300 class. He continued there in 2024, while waiting on the sidelines for a chance to race at single-seaters’ top level in SF.

That happened in 2025 as Nakajima Racing signed him, and he seized the opportunity with both hands.

He qualified eighth for his debut, but had to start from the pits and then got caught in an incident that put him a lap down. While he started 14th for race two the next day, Fraga was in the top 10 by the second corner. Having ended lap one in eighth, he then joined several other drivers in taking the risk of an early pitstop on lap two. It paid off, and he charged to sixth before a penalty moved him up another spot.

At Motegi he was 0.135s away from claiming pole for race one, and finished only 3.772s behind the winner in third. It wasn’t so simple for race two, as he started sixth, struggled for pace early on and dropped to 15th before recovering to ninth place.

Fraga said the set-up was very sensitive, and he was driving the car in an agressive style with possibly more time in races spent side-by-side with rivals than any other driver in the field. When there were clashes, he came out on top.

A fall from sixth to 20th in the first two laps at Autopolis prompted Fraga to pit on lap three, and from there he climbed back up to eighth. The Fuji double-header was productive too. He qualified in the top eight both times, finished eighth in race one then ran seventh in race two before making a second pitstop put him a lap down. Sixth and eighth places at Sugo and Fuji followed, and he was 0.076s off pole for the race that got rescheduled to run at Suzuka.

Fraga qualified third, finished second and set the fastest lap in race one, led every lap of race two to deliver Nakajima’s first win since 2022, then rose from sixth to fourth (with fastest lap) in the finale.

3. Andrea Kimi Antonelli ITALY 19y/o
7th in F1 (1 P, 3 FL)   2024: 6th in F2 (2 W, 4 FL)   2023: FREC champion (5 W, 4 P, 5 FL), FRME champion (3 W, 3 P, 5 FL)

Photo: Mercedes-AMG F1

Photo: Mercedes-AMG F1

The Mercedes-AMG F1 team’s long-time protege finally arrived at single-seaters’ top level this year, and immediately slotted into a seat with his backer as its seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton left for Ferrari.

Joining a race-winning team as a rookie rather than learning the challenges of F1 under a little less pressure with a team further down the grid meant Mercedes had to protect and support Antonelli rather than outsource that responsibility and it was slow to react at times to both external issues, such as social media abuse, and internal like drops in confidence.

In only his fifth year of single-seater racing, Antonelli became the highest-scoring F1 rookie of all time, the youngest driver to lead an F1 race and finished on the podium four times including sprint races.

However team-mate George Russell scored over twice as many points as him, an important metric for assessing any driver’s season, and only two drivers (one being Bortoleto) exceeded his tally of retiring from four grands prix.

Antonelli qualified 12 places lower than Russell on debut, but finished one place behind him in fourth and was only two places behind in qualifying next time out, which was for the Chinese Grand Prix’s sprint race. In his first eight races, the teenager only finished lower than seventh once but in the next nine rounds he had his four non-finishes and only scored twice. That was the European leg of the season, mostly on familiar tracks, but he couldn’t click with the soft (C6) tyre compound.

The exception was the Canadian Grand Prix, a track he had no reference for and therefore nothing to lose confidence against, and he qualified fourth on the C6 tyres then clinched his maiden podium in third place.

In the flyaway leg of the season, Antonelli’s confidence returned and he grabbed three more podiums. At Interlagos, he started and finished second in both the sprint race and grand prix, the latter after holding off Max Verstappen. The drive was touted as a sign of what’s to come from the young Italian.

2. Ollie Bearman ENGLAND 20y/o
13th in F1   2024: 18th in F1, 12th in F2 (3 W)   2023: 6th in F2 (4 W, 3 P, 2 FL)   2022: 3rd in FIA F3 Championship (1 W, 1 FL)

Photo: Haas F1

Photo: Haas F1

Outscoring his grand prix-winning team-mate Esteban Ocon in his rookie season was a stellar job by Bearman, who learned a lot from his three F1 races in 2024 (that catapulted him into his 2025 seat and a likely future berth at Ferrari).

The highlight was the Mexico City Grand Prix, where he took his and Haas’s (joint) best race result in F1 by finishing fourth.

That came in a run of four consecutive Q3 appearances, which translated into points finishes each time. Bearman also converted a strong start position into points at Suzuka, while at several events he showed an ability to charge up the order.

He rose from 17th to eighth in the Chinese GP, 20th to 10th at Bahrain (between Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda and Antonelli), and from the pitlane to sixth at Zandvoort. That was down to a power unit change, which would’ve boosted his pace.

Like Antonelli, Bearman already has a colossal fanbase and he expertly handled the attention and pressure of the F1 paddock. In fact, he looked at ease most of the time.

At no point did Bearman cite his height, a constant disadvantage for reaching the car’s minimum weight, for lacking pace and his early run of points in Asia was a great bounceback from Haas’s unexpectedly tricky season opener.

1. Isack Hadjar FRANCE 24y/o
12th in F1    2024: 2nd in F2 (4 W, 1 P, 2 FL)   2023: 14th in F2 (1 FL), 7th in Macau GP

Photo: Red Bull

Photo: Red Bull

Unlike Antonelli and Bearman, there was an element of surprise surrounding Hadjar’s brilliance in his rookie F1 season. His superb sophomore F2 season in 2024 put him second in Formula Scout’s top 50 junior single-seater drivers of the year, and earned him an F1 seat at Racing Bulls over Red Bull’s Super Formula star Ayumu Iwasa.

As Formula Scout’s focus is on the series below F1 there is a limited understanding of just how ‘easy’ RB’s car was to drive compared to Red Bull Racing’s, and whether that contributed to the rotation of drivers between the two teams on the opposite side of the garage to Hadjar after just two rounds. But regardless of the team’s potential, Hadjar maximised his own.

He qualified 11th for his debut, while his first team-mate Tsunoda was fifth, but the next day he was holding back tears as he told media “it feels terrible” to crash out two corners into the formation lap and not even get to race.

Hadjar moved on from that embarassment quickly, qualifying seventh for the next two grands prix, the top Racing Bulls driver both times, and scored his first points. That trend continued, with 10 further points-scoring races, 17 more Q3 appearances, outqualifying his team-mate 22 times across the season and finishing ahead of them 18 times.

The highlights results-wise were Zandvoort, where Hadjar qualified fourth and claimed his team’s first podium since 2021 by finishing third, in Monaco where he started fifth and finished sixth, and Monza where he scored from 19th on the grid.

He moves to Red Bull for 2026, and F1’s technical overhaul should mean he avoids the struggles others had at the team.

NC. Taylor Barnard ENGLAND 21y/o
currently 13th in Formula E   2024-25: 4th in FE (2 P)   2024: 21st in F2 (1 W), 2nd in FRME (5 W, 4 P, 1 FL)   2023-24: 22nd in FE   2023: 10th in FIA F3 Championship (1 W), 2nd in FRME (2 W, 3 FL)

Photo: McLaren

There are a lot of reasons why Barnard deserves the number one spot on this list as the most exciting junior single-seater graduate of the last year, but arguably that graduation came in 2024.

The former protege of Nico Rosberg had a slow start to his single-seater career, and joining new team PHM Racing as a third-year Formula 4 driver in 2022 was a risk but it paid off superbly. He was runner-up to Antonelli in ADAC F4 and then FRegional Middle East at the start of 2023, before stepping up to the FIA F3 Championship with Jenzer Motorsport in the equivalent of a loan deal.

The end of that campaign featured starring drives that may have only left him 10th in the standings but put him firmly on the international map again. A McLaren test in FE set such an impression that he was then signed as reserve driver, while PHM’s pipeline also pushed him up to F2 for 2024 less than four weeks before the season began.

His first F2 points came when he won the Monaco sprint race, and he’d gained circuit experience a month prior by making his FE debut. Barnard was called up mid-event, and drove from 22nd to 14th on a track where overtaking is very difficult.

He raced for McLaren again in the Berlin double-header at the start of May, and scored in both races. In the second he charged from 18th to eighth, showing immense potential, and he qualified 14th for the first race.

By August, McLaren had decided to hand Barnard a full-time for the 2024-25 campaign. Once his future was determined, Barnard decided to end his F2 campaign four rounds early and his pre-season preparations for FE began.

The year ended with the season-opening Sao Paulo E-Prix, and despite qualifying 17th a starring drive meant Barnard broke the record for FE’s youngest ever podium finisher. The rest of the season occurred this year, and four further podiums and two poles put the 21-year-old a stellar fourth in the standings, outscoring his team-mate by over 80 points.

The post Formula Scout’s Class of 2024 appeared first on Formula Scout.

40. Evan Giltaire

Down 14 • Was a winner early in first full FREC campaign 

Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

After looking promising in a couple of outings at the end of 2023, Giltaire stayed with ART Grand Prix for a full rookie campaign in Formula Regional Europe. The reigning French F4 champion looked like a potential title challenger as he calmly took his maiden win on the opening weekend at Hockenheim. However, thereafter his season lost rhythm as he struggled to get on top of tyre degradation, while team-mate Alessandro Giusti gained the upper hand as the team recovered from a dismal 2023 season.

After that initial high, Giltaire could only manage one more podium, in the first race at the Red Bull Ring.

He acknowledged that his inability to nail routinely a top five slot in split qualifying hampered his chances of progress in races. Overall, an average position of 6.7 in qualifying in his group meant he was only the season’s 13th fastest qualifier, leaving him stuck in the pack and exposed to the risk of midfield contact accordingly.

He did take second place in the rookie standings behind Noah Stromsted but will be looking to challenge for the main title in his sophomore year in 2025.

Giltaire had looked well-placed for a strong finish on his Macau debut, but starting the feature race from ninth he was a victim of team-mate James Wharton’s crash at Lisboa putting an end to his race.

39. Noel Leon

Up 11 • Progressed to score podiums in F3 and Macau

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

After dominating a weak Euroformula field in 2023, Leon’s first season in FIA Formula 3 was characterised by continued progress.

The in-season testing at Barcelona marked a turning point after a slow start for the Mexican and his Van Amersfoort Racing team. At Imola, he achieved his first podium in a chaotic conclusion to the sprint race, where he lost the lead on the last lap to cross the line in second place, then stood on the top step after a penalty for Oliver Goethe, only to then be penalised himself for a restart infraction and demoted to third.

After that Leon became a regular points scorer while his team-mates struggled. He became a frontrunner in the final rounds of the season, snatching three more podiums – including second in the Hungaroring feature race – to allow him to squeeze into the top 10 in the final standings.

He went on to finish on the podium at the Macau Grand Prix in a one-off return to FRegional machinery, and joins Prema for his second season in F3 in 2025.

38. Hiyu Yamakoshi

New entry • Took the fight to Slater after Italian F4 switch

Photo: ACI Sport

Photo: ACI Sport

Yamakoshi was a revelation as he moved across to the Italian F4 championship with Van Amersfoort Racing, after combining the French and Spanish championships in 2023. The Japanese driver endeared himself to his team with his willingness to listen and learn, his conduct off-track and his speed on-track.

In a season where the rest of the filed was left somewhat in Freddie Slater’s shadow, Yamakoshi was the Englishman’s main challenger in the opening rounds. When he took three poles at Imola, he seemed to have rattled Slater slightly for the first and only time in the year. His two wins in Emilia-Romagna were fully deserved, while he was his own harshest critic for the mistake which cost him a hat-trick.

He took three more podiums at Vallelunga but lost direction mid-season before bouncing back in Barcelona, although a disastrous weekend at Monza cost him second in the final standings.

He did take two more victories in the Euro 4 series but lacked the consistency to challenge for overall honours, with Monza again proving his downfall.

Self-effacing, approachable and modest, if he can add a bit more aggression to his racing, Yamakoshi could shine in FRegional next year as he steps up with VAR.

37. Christian Ho

Up 4 • Singaporean was standout star of Eurocup-3

Photo: Eurocup-3

Photo: Eurocup-3

Ho looks like the next big talent from southeast Asia, and like many drivers with sighs set on Formula 1 he relocated to Europe for his karting career.

As a single-seater rookie in 2022 he was fairly anonymous, but since teaming up with Campos Racing last year he has become a rapid driver capable of winning streaks and title attacks. Spanish F4 was the first place he showed it, keeping the title fight going to the final round and winning the last four races, and in 2024 he stepped up to the FRegional-based Eurocup-3 and came two points short of being champion.

Failing to meet the chequered flag in the first two races meant he already had a 30-point margin to close, and while he took pole for the next race a slow start and a penalty meant he finished fourth and the gap to the top grew.

Ho’s response was two wins and two poles at Algarve, although retiring his car from second place in race three meant he was still 13 points behind in the title race, then a win and a second place from his double pole at Paul Ricard earned him the points lead.

The perfect weekend for main rival Javier Sagrera at Zandvoort while he only picked up one podium meant Ho trailed by 23 points ahead of the Spanish leg of the season, where his team was likely to have the advantage over the MP Motorsport outfit from the Netherlands than ran Sagrera.

A 10-second penalty for Ho denied him a double podium at Motorland Aragon and grew Sagrera’s advantage, and at Jerez only two points were snipped off as Ho claimed a lights-to-flag race one win and was fifth in race two after a prolonged battle with a team-mate that Ho couldn’t win due to their similar pace.

Ho finished second in race one of the Barcelona finale then comfortably took pole for the title decider. That was converted into a fifth win with ease, but the presence of guest drivers meant Sagrera earned two more points than usual in fifth and therefore pipped Ho to the crown – although that remains under appeal.

The 18-year-old Singaporean has not yet announced his 2025 plans, but there’s scant places left on the FIA F3 grid so there’s a risk that the off-season rather than results could slow his career momentum.

36. Sami Meguetounif

New entry • Fast but inconsistent rookie won two F3 feature races

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Meguetounif was immediately up to speed upon his FIA F3 debut, fighting for the podium in the season opener at Bahrain as he made the most of Trident’s highly competitive package.

A costly mistake in qualifying impacted his results in the second round of the championship at Melbourne, but he bounced back at Imola with a superb race management to win the feature race.

However, the Frenchman was not always able to accompany his speed with consistency, and only scored five points in the next five rounds.

He was aware he just needed to put it together, and so he did in the last two rounds to be fifth in the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps and then comfortably win the final race of the year at Monza, which he executed perfectly as he left the title contenders to squabble behind him.

Meguetounif did what his title-winning team-mate Leonardo Fornaroli could not by winning a race – twice – but never otherwise finished on the podium and therefore only scored just over half as many points and finished eighth in the standings. Rather than stay to put that right in 2025, another step up to Formula 2 beckons.

35. Tim Tramnitz

Down 6 • Red Bull junior was strongest in F3 sprints

Photo: Red Bull

Photo: Red Bull

Tramnitz quickly emerged as the leading driver of MP Motorsport’s all-rookie line-up in FIA F3.

The experience gathered during pre-season testing allowed him to finish fifth and third in the opening round of the season at Bahrain. The expectations were high after that, but the MP car was not always able to fight at the front.

Still, the Red Bull junior continued to make the podium in reversed-grid sprint races, twice finishing in second place at Imola and Monaco while the season was still in its early stages.

Results were hard to come by in the middle of the year but the German continued to progress as the season went on and kept maximising the opportunities he had. He capped off the season by scoring points in the last four races, and finally stood on the top step in the sprint race at Monza.

Ninth in the final standings, he scored more points than anybody – and 64% of his own total – in sprint races, so will be trying to lead MP forward into the top half of the top 12 in qualifying to score bigger in 2025.

34. Callum Voisin

New entry • Drove Rodin to the top step in F3

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Without a doubt, Voisin was one of the standout drivers of the second half of the 2024 FIA F3 season.

The Rodin Motorsport package lacked competitiveness and his lack of experience in the series didn’t help either, which led to him going points-free for the first six rounds.

However, the Silverstone round was an important turnaround. Helped by the mixed weather conditions and his and his British-based team’s local knowledge, Voisin extracted the maximum from the car and showcased his talent by qualifying ninth and finishing the sprint race in fourth place, before charging to first in a highly strategic feature race only to then be classified third because of a penalty.

The points streak continued at the Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps, where he starred again claiming pole position and then winning the feature race in slippery conditions.

33. Ollie Bearman

Down 27 • Managed three more F2 wins amid F1 call-ups and Prema struggles

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Bearman’s 2024 season was far off the expectations for a sophomore of his pedigree. Prema’s struggled with the set-up of the new F2 car was evident in its all-star line-up’s lack of results, with the car proving difficult to handle especially in the race.

However, Ferrari junior Bearman still put it on pole in Jeddah – a remarkable turnaround from Bahrain one week earlier – before he had to withdraw to make his surprise F1 debut.

More F1 commitments and the unpredictability of his car impacted the Briton’s performances from thereon. Qualifying became a struggle, and it was difficult to reach the front starting from the back. Nevertheless, Bearman still delivered when he found himself in a position to do so, winning the sprint races at Spielberg, Monza and Lusail.

The highlight of his season though was the Monaco feature race, where he charged from 12th place on the grid to fourth at the chequered flag, including a blistering opening lap, strong race pace and a brilliant move on his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

32. Nikita Johnson

Up 16 • Teen won frequently in Indy Pro 2000 and twice in GB3

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Velocity Racing Development’s protege is still only 16, but has already proven himself on three rungs of the Road to Indy and now on the British racing scene too.

After taking two wins and two other podiums from five races in 2023, Johnson raced in the third-tier USF Pro 2000 full-time this year and won eight races but lost the title due to non-finishes and a disqualification. He not only won three more races than the champion, but became only the fourth driver in the last 27 years to surpass seven victories in a season.

Johnson was victorious in four of the first six races this season. That run was ended when he was disqualified from victory in race two on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course due to having a modified component on his car, and he not just lost the 30 points for winning but was also docked a further 30 points as a penalty.

His lead went from 55 to 15 points, but then he finished second from pole in race three and his closest title rival ran out of budget and dropped off the grid. The following race however also contributed to Johnson losing the title, as the Freedom 90 awarded additional points due to running on an oval. Johnson crashed out halfway through and had a penalty, and now he had just a one-point lead over Lochie Hughes.

A perfect weekend at the Road America triple-header put Hughes ahead, and Johnson rebounded by going unbeaten at Mid-Ohio but that was a two-race weekend so a big points gap still existed.

Then came Toronto. Johnson ploughed into the back of another car one corner into race one, then his attempt to pressure Hughes for the lead in race two turned into a spin and a race-ending crash. Now he was third in the points, and another unbeaten weekend in the Portland finale only moved him back up one spot.

VRD isn’t active in Indy Nxt, the next rung of the Road to Indy, so the team prepared Johnson for 2025 by also having him race in GB3 this year. He joined the grid after turning 16 and won twice en route to 11th in the standings. For 2025 he will stay there but join Hitech GP.

31. Noah Stromsted

New entry • Summary

Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Against a dominant Prema and drivers with more FRegional experience, Stromsted probably did the maximum he could this year by coming sixth in FREC.

He was over 50 points shy of fifth place, but was classified as top rookie and in addition to four second places (one of which came from a pole position claimed in heavy rain at the Red Bull Ring), he had three other top-five finishes and three fastest laps.

Wet-weather form propelled him to strong results at multiple circuits, but Stromsted admitted to Formula Scout there was a pace struggle in the dry during the season’s first half. The building of experience helped him following that, and 62% of his points came after season’s halfway point.

Stromsted also scored 99.1% of Race Performance Motorsport’s points, individually matching the team’s combined podium tally from the previous two seasons and single-handedly earning it sixth place in the teams’ standings for 2024. Had he been with a more established outfit, there’s no doubt Stromsted’s struggles would have either been resolved quicker, been less costly in terms of points, or both.

There were also cameos in FRegional Middle East and FIA F3 either side of turning 17, and Stromsted will step up to the latter full-time for his fifth year of single-seater racing.

The post Formula Scout Top 50 Drivers of 2024: 40-31 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photos: Prema

When F2 drivers earn the chance to race in F1, it’s validation that their driving on the rung below has been impressive. How much does that apply to 2024, a season of statistical quirks and many F1-bound names

Next year there will be a remarkable number of drivers at single-seaters’ top level who spent 2024 racing in Formula 2.

Eventual champion Gabriel Bortoleto secured a Formula 1 seat with Sauber two rounds before the season concluded, at which point the Invicta Racing driver had a 3.5-point lead in a seven-way title fight. There would have been eight contenders had MP Motorsport’s Franco Colapinto not already stepped up to F1 with Williams.

A lowly 15th in the standings then was Prema’s Ollie Bearman, but he had already made his F1 debut with Ferrari in March’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, been signed by Haas for 2025 in July and raced for them in September’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

His performance in Saudi Arabia, qualifying 11th and finishing seventh as team-mate Charles Leclerc drove to third, really opened eyes in the F1 paddock. Bearman’s F2 rivals hoped it would lead to more attention on their performances, and it can be confidently said that it has based on how many are now F1, Formula E, IndyCar or Super Formula-bound, or have already got there. Oddly it was only Red Bull (a brand with two F1 teams) that appeared ignorant of F2’s exciting talents while the season was taking place, and the messy way it settled its 2025 line-ups has been the biggest story of the winter so far.

Following Bearman’s debut, and before the season ended, here’s a timeline of top-tier opportunities and deals F2 stars landed:

April: Mercedes-AMG conduct private F1 test for its junior Andrea Kimi Antonell at Red Bull Ring, McLaren calls up its FE reserve driver Taylor Barnard for the Monaco E-Prix.
May: Barnard continues to deputise at McLaren, scoring in both Berlin E-Prix races as Paul Aron cameos with Envision Racing. The next day, FE’s rookie test in Berlin features Jak Crawford (Andretti Global), Enzo Fittipaldi (Jaguar) and Dennis Hauger (Porsche) as well as Andretti and Mahindra’s reserve drivers Zane Maloney and Kush Maini.

June: Aston Martin run junior Crawford in private F1 test at Red Bull Ring.
July: Red Bull Racing and Williams call up their respective juniors Isack Hadjar and Franco Colapinto for British Grand Prix practice, Alpine poaches Hitech GP boss Oliver Oakes to be its F1 team principal and Haas hands Bearman a 2025 race seat.
August: Maloney, also Sauber’s reserve driver, joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for a private IndyCar test. Barnard’s FE performances earn him a full-time seat at McLaren for the 2024-25 season, and Antonelli and Colapinto dominate the headlines and appear on track at the Italian Grand Prix. Antonelli makes his practice-only debut with Mercedes as the team finally confirms he will race for them in 2025, and Williams promotes Colapinto to a race seat for the remainder of 2024.
September: Maloney, with no F1 opportunities in sight, signs to become a Lola Yamaha Abt driver in FE for 2024-25. After closing in on points leader Isack Hadjar in F2, McLaren junior Bortoleto is rewarded with a private F1 test at the Red Bull Ring and Bearman scores on a stand-in appearance with Haas at the Azerbaijan GP.
October: Antonelli drives for Mercedes again in Mexico City Grand Prix practice.
November: Andretti signs Crawford as its FE reserve driver, succeeding Maloney, as Fittipaldi tests for McLaren in IndyCar. Sauber announces Bortoleto for 2025, Bearman races for Haas again at the Brazilian Grand Prix and Oakes signs his former F2 driver Aron as Alpine’s reserve driver for the next season.
December: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice features Williams junior Luke Browning, and Hadjar at Red Bull’s other team RB.

Most vocal of the F2 drivers when Bearman debuted was Aron, both in support but also of what it meant for the rest of the grid’s prospects.

“In some regard he is representing the F2 grid on the F1 grid now. So I think all of us are wishing him the best of luck, but I think all of us are also a bit jealous that he got the chance,” he explained.

“It’s obviously great that Ollie has the chance, but I think it shouldn’t also take the light off of the other guys on the F2 grid.

Photo: Hitech GP

“There’s still a lot of talent here, and it’s always great for somebody to be able to make the step up, but everybody here is trying to do their best. And I think there’s many drivers who are ready for the step up and they’re experienced and if they had the chance they would do a good job. Let’s see how Ollie does, hopefully our words are true and he does a good job and represents us well.”

His words rang true, and Aron ended his rookie F2 campaign third in the standings. A millimetre error with his DRS led to a disqualification and a shot at the championship runner-up spot, but the Estonian was Bortoleto’s closest rival on pace.

Bortoleto won the title by 22.5 points over F2 sophomore Hadjar, who had gone into the final round just half a point behind and after driving for RB (which will soon be known as Racing Bulls) in F1 post-season testing was chosen to race for the team in 2025. He had a 29-point gap of his own over Aron, and Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney was fourth in the standings despite ending his campaign a round early to start his FE career.

The other drivers who missed races to take up opportunities elsewhere didn’t fare quite as well. Colapinto ended the season ninth, but on a points-per-race basis would have likely beaten DAMS’ Jak Crawford to fifth, particularly considering Formula 3 graduate Oliver Goethe netted 14 points after he took over his car.

Once Hauger set his sights on a future in IndyCar he left F2, dropping him from ninth to 11th in the standings. He had strong one-lap pace, particularly early in the season, but rarely the race pace to match and being absent made no difference to it being the worst of his three years in F2.

Bearman also missed two rounds, and it was persistent engine issues mid-season rather than relaxing at the idea his future was secured, that contributed to his middling pace at several events.

Rolling race pace average

Driver did less than three rounds

However he was also nowhere near the front elsewhere; only the 11th fastest on single-lap pace (on average 0.719% off the absoute pace on any given weekend) and 21st on race pace. This is calculated using a rolling average of 10 consecutive laps set at a representative pace, and Bearman’s lack of track limits violations meant there was plenty of usable data to reference.

The fact his three wins came in sprint races reflects his lack of pole-fighting form after his spectacular Saudi Arabian weekend (which included topping F2 qualifying before he got his F1 summoning), and the lack of safety car-led laps in the three races he won should have boosted his race pace average (and it meant only Trident-and-then-MP driver Richard Verschoor spent more laps leading than he did). Prema’s total lack of pace at Bahrain and Barcelona was reflected by the team scoring a singular point at those two circuits, and that achievement went to Antonelli.

He was the better qualifier eight times, Bearman outpaced Antonelli five times, and in Baku the F1-busy Bearman was replaced by FIA F3 Championship runner-up Gabriele Mini. This led to the season’s biggest statistical anomaly, instigated by Mini qualifying eighth in Azerbaijan. This meant he started the reversed-grid sprint race in third, and he held the position to make the podium on his F2 debut (a feat also achieved by Campos Racing’s Pepe Marti in the Bahrain season-opener).

In the feature race he cycled into the lead before pitting, which dropped him to 11th, and he was ninth when he crashed out at turn 15. It caused the shortened race to finish behind the safety car, and the lack of green flag laps meant no drivers had representative race pace data that could be amalgated into their season average, leaving Mini’s sprint race drive his only entry.

It also made him the season’s fastest driver in races on average, having been within 0.241% of AIX Racing’s race winner Joshua Duerksen’s long-run pace, but one data result doesn’t make an average so Bortoleto rightly takes top spot with a late run of podiums that delivered him the title and put him past Aron on race pace. The technical disparity with his DRS may not have been too harmful to Aron’s championship position, but denied him a statistical marker that proved his point about how it’s not just the drivers landing F1 seats that have driven superbly this year.

The post How talent shone through in an F2 season of statistical quirks appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Haas F1 Team

Formula 2 teammates Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Ollie Bearman will both take part in the Super Formula rookie test at Suzuka this week ahead of graduating to Formula 1.

The test is a chance for both drivers to gain their first experience of the Suzuka track ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, which hosts the third round of the 2025 F1 season next April.

Both will take part in the third and final day of the test on Friday. Bearman will drive for KCMG in the car raced this year by Kamui Kobayashi, while Antonelli will test for Rookie Racing in place of Kazuya Oshima.

Antonelli will arrive at the test directly from driving for Mercedes in the young driver test in Abu Dhabi. Bearman’s chance to drive for Haas in the same test was scuppered when he made his third stand-in grand prix start in Brazil, rendering him ineligible, with new teammate Esteban Ocon driving in the parallel tyre test.

Juan Manuel Correa is also among the rookie testers after bringing an early end to his F2 campaign with DAMS. He will test on Thursday for Kondo Racing, while James Hedley – who contested the FIA Formula 3 round in Monaco with Jenzer Motorsport alongside selected outings in GB3 – will drive the team’s sister car on both Thursday and Friday.

The majority of the other rookies are names from the Japanese racing scene. Super Formula Lights champion Syun Koide will drive the full three-day test in B-Max Racing’s car ahead of an anticipated step up to the series for next year, replacing Iori Kimura.

SFL runner-up Rikuto Kobayashi will test on the final day for TOM’S, taking over from SF champion Sho Tsuboi. Sacha Fenestraz will drive the team’s other car ahead of an expected return to Japan following a stint in Formula E.

Seita Nonaka, who came third in SFL, tests Bearman’s KCMG car on Thursday. Kaylen Frederick, who switched from FIA F3 to SFL this year and finished fifth in the points, had been announced as taking part in the test but will no longer participate.

Former W Series driver and 2022 Formula Regional Japan champion Miki Koyama will test alongside Bearman at KCMG on Friday. Kazuhisa Urabe, who came 11th in Japanese F4 and contested two FRJC rounds with Toyota support will test for the INGING team on the same day next to Yuui Tsutsumi, who contested four SFL rounds last year alongside racing in Super GT’s secondary GT300 class.

Ex-Red Bull junior and Toyota Racing Series champion Igor Fraga, who came fourth in SFL last year, will do the full test for Nakajima Racing, where he’ll be joined on the last day by former FRJC racer Riki Okusa. Also considered a rookie is Nissan GT ace and 2017 Japanese F3 champion Mitsunori Takaboshi, who does the full test for Team Impul, where former F3 racer turned World Endurance Championship hypercar driver Oliver Rasmussen will also drive two days.

The post Antonelli and Bearman to take part in Super Formula test at Suzuka appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Prema

Ollie Bearman and Jak Crawford had to be “patient” in their pursuit of the overtakes that earned them first and second places in the Formula 2 sprint race at Qatar.

The mild DRS effect and the dirty air made following and overtaking difficult at the Lusail circuit. Nevertheless, both drivers benefited from being on the hard tyre while their immediate rivals ran the medium compound.

Prema’s Bearman lost the race lead at turn 10 on lap two to Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar, who quickly built a gap of almost four seconds. From lap six, the Ferrari junior progressively closed on the Red Bull protegee, and eventually regained first place under braking at turn on lap 21 of 23.

“I was trying to be patient but the lap count was dropping,” Bearman said after the race. “At one stage in the race I was catching him quite a lot, but then when you get within kind of two-and-a-half seconds, you start to struggle a bit more. You pick up some dirty air. And the DRS detection is at the end of all the fast corners. So it’s really hard to follow. And especially with those medium tyres, he was dropping in right corners, but in left corners he was still quicker than me, with the softer compound. It was a tough one. I was really having to fight for it. When I did get the chance to go for it, I had to go all in.

“I was far and I was trying to kind of make him not think I’m coming,” he explained about his move after Hadjar was slow out of the last corner. “I went for it at the last minute and he left me just enough space. He did close the door a little bit, but it made sense. I managed to put my nose in and go through. I knew that once I got into the corner I actually had more grip in the right-hand, as he was struggling a bit with the front-left. So once I was alongside it was move done, But it was a risky one.”

Then at turn four, Hadjar spun and dropped to fourth place, which promoted Crawford to second place.

The American had endured a hard-fought 17-lap battle with ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins to reach the podium positions. They ran half-a-second apart most of the time and had several side-by-side moments before Crawford eventually drove past at turn one.

“It was a crazy battle,” said the DAMS driver. “I felt like we were battling almost every lap into turn one. There were about five laps there where we battled through the whole middle sector. But it was a tough battle. There were some moments that were quite on the edge of racing. At the end of the day, I knew I had to be patient. I knew I was gonna get him at some point. I just had to be patient as his tyres would drop off at the end.”

The post ‘Patience’ rewarded both Bearman and Crawford in Qatar F2 sprint race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Prema’s Ollie Bearman passed Isack Hadjar with three laps to go to win a dramatic Qatar sprint race that finished behind the safety car.

Bearman scored his third victory of the season ahead of DAMS driver Jak Crawford and MP Motorsport returnee Richard Verschoor, while a late spin cost Campos Racing’s Hadjar both second place and a chance to regain the championship lead.

Starting from the inside of the front row, Hadjar was one of five drivers in the field to opt for the medium compound tyre which he used to gain an early advantage.

Using the hard compound, Bearman converted pole into the lead at the start ahead of Hadjar while ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins, also on the medium tyres, vaulted from seventh on the grid to third. Bearman quickly came under pressure from Hadjar, who used the extra grip from his softer tyres to snatch the lead into turn 10 on the second lap.

Hadjar built a 3.5-second lead over the next two laps, but he was not able to pull away any further. The Red Bull junior then started to complain about his front left tyre just 8 laps into the 23-lap contest. It wasn’t until lap 10 that Bearman started to close back in, and by the race’s halfway stage he had cut the gap to 1.6s. The Ferrari Academy member moved to within DRS range with eight laps to go, but a few more laps passed until his opportunity arrived.

As the cars commenced the 21st lap, Bearman dived to the inside of Hadjar into turn one to snatch the lead. Hadjar tried to stay within Bearman’s slipstream but then spun at turn four and slipped to fourth.

Having been unable to keep pace with Bearman and Hadjar from the outset, Martins also started to struggle with his tyres at one-third’s distance. He put up a valiant defence from Crawford for several laps, much to his pursuer’s frustration. Martin’s lack of pace meant the number of cars bunched up behind him continued to grow, with the train eventually going all the way back to Prema’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli in 12th.

Crawford eventually swept past Martins into turn one with seven laps to go, by which time he was 6.5s behind the front two, but inherited second due to Hadjar’s late spin. With his resistance finally broken, Martins was shuffled back out of the points to 10th, but then was indirectly involved in the incident which caused the late safety car period which neutralised the race to its conclusion.

Antonelli dived to the inside of Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini for 11th into turn one, but then was caught out by the struggling Martins in front of him and ended up collecting Maini, with the pair both spinning and then pulling off the circuit with damage.

Verschoor resisted early pressure from Hitech GP’s Paul Aron for fifth before capitalising on Martins’ tyre issues and Hadjar’s error to finish on the podium in his first race since switching from Trident. Aron eventually fell back from Verschoor and, after holding off Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto and surviving a clash with Martins while making his way by, kept his title hopes alive by coming home fifth.

Bortoleto went off the road while trying to pass Aron at one stage, but he took the chequered flag in sixth to maintain the points lead. Rodin Motorsport duo Ritomo Miyata and Zane Maloney were the final two points-scorers in seventh and eighth. DAMS driver Dino Beganovic had ran ahead of the pair on his debut until being rear-ended by Miyata in the closing stages and spinning down the order to 11th.

MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe was also denied a chance to score points after retiring with a sizeable engine failure in the early stages, shortly after being passed by Bortoleto and Beganovic.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s John Bennett finished his first F2 race in 13th, one place ahead of fellow debutant and Trident driver Max Esterson. AIX Racing’s Cian Shields also made his debut and came home 18th.

Race results (23 laps)

The post Bearman makes late pass to win Formula 2’s Qatar sprint race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Haas

Ollie Bearman has been handed another unexpected opportunity to race for the Haas Formula 1 team in Brazil this weekend.

Bearman, who will step up from Formula 2 to race for Haas full-time in 2025, will once more step in for Kevin Magnussen on Friday at Interlagos, the team has announced.

Magnussen is suffering with sickness, and as this is a sprint event, Bearman will be required to drive not only in Friday’s sole practice session and the sprint qualifying but also in Saturday’s sprint race. Magnussen would be able to return for the main qualifying and race should Haas deem him fit to do so, or it may decide that Bearman should complete the weekend.

The FIA has granted Haas permission to replace Magnussen with Bearman “until further notice” for this race weekend.

Having made a surprise F1 debut with Ferrari in Jeddah earlier this year after Carlos Sainz was ruled out with appendicitis, he then got to make an early race debut with Haas at Baku when Magnussen picked up a one-race ban.

He has also driven in four free practice sessions at other events with Haas, plus in Mexico City last weekend for Ferrari.

He is due to see out his Formula 2 campaign with Prema when it resumes at the end of this month in Qatar, followed a week later by the season finale in Abu Dhabi. He is 15th in the F2 standings, just two places higher than he is in the F1 championship having scored in both of his Grand Prix starts so far this year.

The post Bearman fills in for Magnussen at Haas once more in Brazil appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: LAT Photo

Formula 2 racer Ollie Bearman has been called up by Haas to race in Formula 1’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix next weekend, subsitituting for Kevin Magnussen.

Haas signed Bearman as one of its reserve drivers this February, having earned the same role with Ferrari a few days prior, then in July the team announced he would be promoted to a race seat in 2025.

Between those two points, Bearman has made his F1 debut with Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as a mid-weekend stand-in for Carlos Sainz Jr, who had been ruled out of action by appendicitis. Despite missing the first two practice sessions in Jeddah, Bearman was able to qualify 11th and finish seventh.

This time he is making an F1 cameo due to Magnussen collecting 12 penalty points on his race license, which triggers an automatic one-race ban.

“It’s definitely more of a challenge stepping in to race as a reserve driver, with limited preparation time and so on, but I’m in the fortunate position of having done it earlier in the year with Ferrari, so I can at least call on that experience,” said Bearman.

“I’ve also had four FP1 sessions with Haas in the VF-24 already this season, so undoubtedly that will also prove to be valuable in tackling the full race weekend in Baku. The team is in good form at the moment and I’ll do my best to be prepared with the time we have available. The aim is to get out there and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan.”

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu added. “This is another excellent opportunity for both Ollie and the team to work together, this time throughout an entire race weekend.”

Bearman’s sophomore F2 campaign has not met expectations, after coming sixth in the championship as a rookie last year, as he currently lies 14th in the standings. He has won two sprint races, including last time out at Monza.

While his Prema team was unable to replace him in Jeddah due to the last-minute nature of his F1 call-up, this time the team is in a position to find a driver to fill Bearman’s seat for the F2 races in Baku supporting the Azerbaijan GP.

The post Ollie Bearman to get second F1 start with Haas in Azerbaijan GP appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Prema

Ollie Bearman recovered from a grid penalty to score his second Formula 2 sprint race win of the season at Monza.

The Prema driver started eighth rather than third on the reversed grid after causing a collision with Pepe Marti last time out at Spa-Francorchamps, but gained three places at the start.

Behind him there was contact between Zak O’Sullivan and Oliver Goethe that sent the latter into the wall on his F2 debut. Bearman’s team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli – who started 15th after a 10-place penalty for repeated dry-ice infringements – then tangled with O’Sullivan at the first chicane, breaking his front wing and slicing his front-left tyre.

At the front, Enzo Fittipaldi got away well from pole, unlike fellow front-row starter Amaury Cordeel, but still entered the first chicane under pressure from Marti and cut across the inside of turn one, enabling Marti to take the lead before the safety car neutralised the race.

Fittipaldi was right on Marti’s tail at the restart and pulled ahead under braking but locked up and went straight on, meaning Marti kept the lead and both Victor Martins and Bearman also got by into the Roggia chicane.

Bearman took second from Martins into the Roggia on the following tour, and less than two laps later was able to challenge Marti down the main staight. Marti went deep into turn one and had to give up the lead.

Martins got past Marti one lap later, but their fight allowed Bearman to break over one second clear. After a lap, Marti lunged back at Martins but they both ended up cutting across the chicane.

ART Grand Prix driver Martins then went chasing after Bearman, but would finish 1.6 seconds behind despite setting the fastest lap right at the end.

Marti meanwhile was passed by Fittipaldi and Joshua Duerksen in successive laps, and Duerksen – who started 10th – passed Fittipaldi on lap 13 of 21 to finish a comfortable third and take the second podium of his rookie season.

Fittipaldi would fall back behind Marti before the end, and Zane Maloney also dived past him for fifth at the Roggia on the last lap. Jak Crawford got by Fittipaldi too and almost pipped Maloney to the line.

Paul Aron slowed and pitted with damage after going side-by-side with Maloney in the first chicane with two laps to go.

Dennis Hauger just held off a charging Gabriel Bortoleto – who started 22nd and last – in a photo finish for the final point in eighth while championship leader Isack Hadjar was a muted 10th.

Race results (21 laps)

The post Bearman fights back from grid penalty to win Monza F2 sprint race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: F1

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is close to becoming an F1 driver, realising a long-held ambition of Mercedes chief Toto Wolff. So far, it feels as though the 18-year-old has been handling the excitement best

Having spent more than a decade as team principal of not just one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history, but in all of sport, Toto Wolff knows how to handle the media. He also knows how to handle not only one of the most talented racing drivers of all time, but one of the most marketable individual athletes in all of sport. The reach of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes goes beyond Formula 1, and the same can be said of their rivals – or archnemeses – Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

Given Hamilton alone has delivered Wolff’s team 85 grand prix victories and six world championship titles since 2013, including winning two of the last four races, there should never have been a point where Wolff has looked at his driver line-up, looked at those of the opposition and felt envy. But the fact is that he has wanted Verstappen’s services for a long time, and it was Red Bull who was able to secure those – and retain them – by signing the Dutchman to its driver development programme as a teenager then rapidly bringing him up into one of its F1 teams. The outcome of that, in the same time period of Hamilton’s success with Mercedes, has been 61 grand prix wins and three titles.

There was a lot of interest from F1’s driver development programmes in Verstappen as he switched from karts to cars, but Red Bull’s was the only one that could guarantee him an F1 seat, and therefore claim his signature. Mercedes had the weakest hand on any F1 team as, although it had been supporting young drivers for many years, its academy was just being launched in its current form at the point where Red Bull was already running private tests in single-seaters with Verstappen.

For a long time, the idea of F1 driver development programmes (usually branded as junior teams or academies) was synonymous with Red Bull. But the inefficiency of its output and decision-taking after Verstappen, and the rise of rival programmes, means that is no longer the case. In fact, Mercedes has set a great example for what a well-run junior team looks like, despite only having three drivers graduate to F1. Later this week confirmation is expected that it will become four in 2025, as Mercedes has chosen its junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the replacement for Ferrari-bound Hamilton.

Photo: LAT Images / Mercedes-AMG

Few in the business will argue against his assertion that Antonelli is F1-ready, but Wolff’s drive to have his own answer to Verstappen – since even today he can’t attract the Dutchman’s talents to his team – has risked exactly the thing that gave Mercedes’ driver development programme a claim at being the best.

Antonelli was driving for the karting team of Nico Rosberg, who was 2016 F1 world champion with Mercedes, when he got signed as a junior aged 11 in early 2018. At the time he was still in mini karting, a level below where many scout for possible generational talents, and contracting him that early was a clear sign of intent. It denied Mercedes’ rivals from snapping him up at a later point, and also would, so long as he lived up to expectations, at one point deny the team’s other juniors their chance at racing in F1. But that was a problem nobody needed to think about until Antonelli reached F1’s support paddock.

That happened this year, and the now-17-year-old’s arrival in F2 came at a price. Mercedes had two juniors ready to race in the second tier of single-seaters, but was only going to support one. Paul Aron had come third in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2023, and Antonelli had been champion of Europe and the Middle East a rung below him in Formula Regional.

Aron had spent three years in FRegional, all under Mercedes’ protective wing, and come third in the European championship twice. Having achieved the same championship position in his rookie F3 campaign, he did not want to lose momentum by spending more time in the category.

Since he raced for F3’s top team Prema, a step up to F2 for 2024 would have freed up his old seat for Antonelli. And since Mercedes’ other junior Frederik Vesti was leaving F2 after becoming championship runner-up (in his second season) with Prema, there was a clear conveyer belt of existing relationships that could have been utilised for the good of each of its rising stars.

But the three-pointed star had already planned to put Antonelli in Prema’s F2 line-up, and was unwilling to support Aron’s own ambitions to graduate from F3. By the time he made his F2 debut in the 2023 season finale, Aron knew he would need to look beyond keeping his place in Mercedes’ ranks to make a full-time step-up possible.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

A day after his debut weekend concluded he confirmed his exit (after two years and four months holding junior status), and three days on secured his seat on the 2024 F2 grid with Hitech GP. That has proven to be an inspired choice, since Hitech has done a far better job of getting to terms with F2’s new car and Aron is firmly in contention to become champion as a rookie. Antonelli has won two races, but sits seventh in the standings.

Gwen Lagrue, who runs Mercedes’ junior team, uncovered Aron and Antonelli in karting and together with Wolff masterminded its patience-led approach, which has traditionally afforded time to its drivers to grow rather than promote them up the ladder too soon and then drop them when they don’t meet expectations. He once stressed in an interview with Formula Scout the importance of loyalty that drivers have to show to organisations to earn opportunities.

Speaking in the context of Oscar Piastri’s defection from Alpine to McLaren, he said: “I don’t know how other young driver programmes are organised, contractually talking, [but] I know what we have with our drivers and to me there is a legal part of it, which is clear to us, but what is clear as well is when you have a chance to be linked to a big organisation, it could be us or any other F1 programme, there is a certain loyalty you need to have.”

Aron could have stayed loyal to Mercedes, but would most likely have remained in F3 and not been able to have such a standout 2024, which has also included the opportunity to race in Formula E. Then you have Vesti, who has held on to his Mercedes links for a fourth year by becoming the team’s reserve driver but at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix will be watching Antonelli drive in practice rather than get to be in the Mercedes-AMG F1 W15 himself. Not only is he being denied a deserved opportunity to be on track in an F1 car, but that lack of track time also prevents him from correlating the simulator work that is part of his duties. By then it will likely already be announced that Antonelli has jumped him in the queue for a race seat too.

At the end of the day, and thankfully for all directly involved, Antonelli has adapted incredibly well to the on and off-track requirements of F2. Had he not, then it would have highlighted the error Mercedes made by overlooking its usual patience-led approach. At the moment the consequences have only been felt by the team’s other long-time proteges, but should the next step up to F1 prove too much, too fast for Antonelli then he will feel it too. And that’s not fair on him. There is the risk that, if the gamble doesn’t work out, Mercedes could potentially have mishandled three very impressive talents – the sort of thing Red Bull has been guilty of before.

Photo: Prema

Halfway through the F2 season, at a point when Antonelli was yet to make the podium but was way ahead of team-mate and fellow F1-bound talent Ollie Bearman in the standings, Wolff was asked if he had concerns about Antonelli’s readiness.

“The season has been a bit tricky because overall the two [Prema drivers] have not been on a level and I think the team recognises that,” he replied.

“[Antonelli] is being talked a lot about. His junior formula and go-karting track record is one of a kind. And that’s clear that the pressure ramps up. But it’s like his father says, a champion needs to be thrown in the cold water and needs to swim. So they are very clear about that.”

He added: “I don’t think that the pressure harms at all the way he performs in the car and how he drives. You can clearly see it’s a good benchmarking with Ollie Bearman. They are pretty close. Ollie had a very good race in Austria and Kimi on the Sunday, had a clutch release issue in the second race. So you’ve got to swim. That’s clear. It was a rapid career progression. He’s 17. Hasn’t got even a driving license for a road car. And the best ones will be able to cope with that, with the amount of scrutiny and the pressure, and it’s going to get bigger.”

Mercedes expects Antonelli to swim rather than sink, but those comments suggest that – having already put six-and-a-half years of investment into his career – it would rather take the risk of the latter happening than take more time before putting Antonelli in F1.

And while F2’s mammoth 28-race schedule does mean Antonelli is getting plenty of track time and paddock knowledge this year, as well as introducing him to many new tracks, it’s actually restricting the amount of time he can commit to F1-specific learning. At least, based on Prema’s social media output, we know that he has superb information retention abilities.

 

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Social media, and the relationship with the media, is the next area where Antonelli’s own brilliance has camouflaged a potentially unrecognised issue.

Even before Antonelli had started a race in category higher than FRegional, Wolff was talking openly in the press about his prospects of being Hamilton’s replacement – building the public pressure and scrutiny upon his F2 campaign – and he admitted soon afterwards that he was guilty of talking up his protege too much. More recently, his excitement has been such that he has already stated on-the-record that Antonelli will be part of his 2025 line-up, anticipating the official team announcement that has no doubt been carefully planned by the communications department.

Meanwhile Antonelli – who is enjoying his first week as an adult having turned 18 the day before Mercedes announced his Italian GP practice outing – has nailed every single English language media session he has had this year.

Sometimes he is not confident with his answers – that seemed particularly true early in the year – but he’s always polite, puts time into thinking about his responses and when he can go into detail he does so in a very clear way. He has great communication skills, and radiates maturity at the same time as youth. When things have not gone his or Prema’s way this year, Bearman’s reactions have featured far more frustrations.

It should be made clear that he is only a year older than Antonelli, and having had his expectations set higher by his stunning rookie F2 season last year then starring F1 debut in March, the amount of misfortune and mistakes that have occupied his year – as well as an ongoing issue with tyre warming – has led to more answers rueing what could have been rather than picking out positives from bad results.

Bearman has already secured his F1 future, his cameo with Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix leading to a full-time drive with Haas for 2025, and is one of many young drivers who could make a claim as deserving to be on next year’s grid.

Williams junior Franco Colapinto [pictured below leading Antonelli in Monaco] is the only driver in the top seven of F2’s standings who is older than 20, and got to drive in free practice at the British Grand Prix.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

James Vowles, who was one of the most senior figures below Wolff at Mercedes and another key player in its junior programme before leaving to become Williams team principal in January 2023, previously also preached the strategy of patience in his team’s approach to its protege:

“I believe that you really can burn a driver if you put them in the car too soon,” he said on the weekend of Colapinto’s practice outing. “Our investment, our commitment to them has to be an amount of time in a historic car, an amount of time with preparation to make sure that if we choose them to go forward, they’re effectively in the strongest place they can be.”

But he has now followed Wolff’s more hurried approach, deciding ahead of the Italian GP to sack Logan Sargeant and put Colapinto in his seat for the remainder of 2024. This weekend he might be asked whether Mercedes deciding it would promote a driver before they had even done a full season in F2 had any influence on him doing the same.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has also explained how his mentality will be should Bearman struggle in his rookie F1 season.

“I think you’ve got to look at the individual mistakes,” he said. “It’s depending on the context. But the thing is, Ollie understands the bigger picture very well. So my expectation is if he’s going to make a mistake, he will make a mistake in the right way, if you like. That’s not something to be shouted at for.”

Colapinto’s arrival in F1 will significantly drive up interest in the championship in his home country of Argentina. The impact won’t be the same in Antonelli’s native Italy, but like his teenaged F2 rivals he would be bringing his own audience to F1 and the combination of that and the interests of Italy’s mainstream media could make for a messy 2025 should Antonelli not perform as anticipated or if Mercedes provides him with an uncompetitive car.

Although Wolff may have drawn the ire of Italian media since his team started dominating F1 – and therefore contributing to a lengthy title drought for Ferrari – his comments and decisions will receive far more focus once he has an Italian driver in his line-up. And that in itself is a point of contention for some who find national pride very important in sport, since Ferrari were ‘denied’ any involvement in the rise of Italy’s greatest racing talent in a generation when he was signed by Mercedes so early.

Photo: FIA Karting / KSP

But would the build-up of pressure on Antonelli from the wider racing world have started earlier had he been a Ferrari Driver Academy member rather than only really picking up once he was in an F1 support series and in F1 seat contention?

Antonelli is driving for an Italian team in F2, but local media has not been as evaluative of the historically dominant Prema’s poor 2024 form as might be expected, particularly given how much this has contributed to its drivers’ struggles. One respected Italian motorsport journalist recently told Formula Scout that there will be less hesitation to point blame towards his team if Antonelli is having bad weekends in a Mercedes.

Outlets that specialise in covering youth sport, or follow young athletes at the professional level, understand that it is not just the teams that have a duty of care for teenaged talents. They know the dangers of ‘hype’, excessive scrutiny and chasing headline-grabbing answers from children who are still learning not only their craft but how to engage with the media.

Mass media, but worryingly more often F1-focused media, have realised that stories about Antonelli are an easy route to clicks but since they are still introducing him to much of their usual audience they need standout remarks from the driver or his bosses to lead content on. Antonelli’s own maturity means he rarely provides such punchy quotes, so Wolff’s comments have had more of a spotlight and that’s also in part down to media having more access to him. If such comments are interpreted as unfair criticisms of Antonelli, it can negatively impact the competitor-media relationship.

It’s unfair for someone who’s just turned 18 to be at the heart of that, and there are enough examples from other sports of how bad it can get when the media ignore the welfare of the ‘next big thing’ in their coverage of them. So why is Antonelli such an easy win for attracting readers? He has a very young, very online and very large fanbase.

Sports stars are some of the most followed people on the planet on social media, and historically it was their teams and the mass media that determined their public image as they were the ones who supplied the content to meet the audience demand. Now athletes at certain levels have more control, and their off-track or off-pitch persona can draw in fans who do not actually follow the sports they compete in.

F2 drivers’ Instagram audiences

Since being an F1 driver is a job, and involves off-track activities with sponsors, it’s understandable that teams may have some influence over professional drivers’ online presence. But there’s less of a corporate feel in the F2 paddock and the drivers reflect that with that they post. The fans want the drivers to be themselves, and to follow their highs and lows.

After a while, a young driver who has hundreds of thousands of people as emotionally attached to their career as they are may feel a responsibility to and pressure from that fanbase to perform. That’s something their management teams need to help them handle, because while they technically owe their fans nothing they cannot ignore that they are now public figures.

There are many examples of this in sports, but motorsport has rarely had a teenager thrown into the media limelight quite as intensely as Antonelli. Thankfully, so far, he has shown he is well equipped to handle it at all. But Mercedes has already come close to crossing a line with how it fosters its latest superstar, and held back its other proteges in pursuit of its current strategy. It may only take one or two future mistakes at its end to compromise all the work it has put into Antonelli’s career to date.

The post Why Antonelli’s boss has to match his maturity in realising his F1 dream appeared first on Formula Scout.