This list contains 15 of the best up and coming racing driver in the world of motorsport. They could be sitting at the top of Formula 2 just waiting for an opportunity or they could be down in F3 looking to climb the ladder.
Felipe Drugovich
Felipe Drugovich is a 22-year-old Brazilian Driver. So far in 2022, he leads the Formula 2 Championship by 21 points. Drugovich has managed to win 4 races this season and has 2 poles. His best weekend of the season came at Spain where he won both the Sprint and Feature races. His other wins came in the Jeddah feature race and the feature race in Monaco. I remember watching both Formula 2 races in Baku and I was very impressed at how he managed to avoid all of the carnage. In the past, Drugovich managed to win the MRF Challenge Formula 200 Championship, the Euroformula Open Championship and the Spanish Formula E Championship all in 2018. In his two previous seasons in Formula 2, Drugovich finished 9th and 8th in the championship with 3 wins and 1 pole so he has been much better this season. If he wins the Championship, I will be very intrigued to see what he does next season as he can’t drive in F2 again.
My verdict: A good driver but I don’t see him being in Formula 1
Theo Pourchaire
Theo Pourchaire is an 18-year-old French driver who is a member of the Sauber Academy. So far in 2022, Pourchaire sits 2nd in the F2 Championship with 3 wins and 7 podiums. The three wins have come in Bahrain, Imola and Hungary. All three of his wins have come in Feature races. Theo won the French F4 Junior Championship in 2018 and also won the ADAC Formula 4 Championship in 2019. Pourchaire finished 2nd in his only season in Formula 3 and finished fifth in his first season in Formula 2 with 2 wins and 1 pole. I’ve had Pourchaire drive for me on Motorsport Manager, and I have also had him as a teammate on the F1 games and he is pretty quick.
My Verdict: A really quick driver and he’s only 18. Expect him to be in Formula 1 in either 2023 or 2024.
Logan Sargeant
Logan Sargeant is a 21-year-old American Driver who is a member of Williams Driver Academy. So far in 2022, Sargeant sits third in the Formula 2 Championship with 2 wins and 2 pole positions. Sargeant’s wins have come in the feature races at both Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring. Sargeant’s best ever championship result was a 2nd place in the 2016/17 Formula 4 UAE Championship. He has also finished third in both the 2017 F4 British Championship and the 2020 Formula 3 Championship. With a question mark over Williams’ second seat for next season, if Sargeant can have a good run of races, he would certainly give Jos Capito something to think about.
My Verdict: Solid driver, Williams 2024?
Frederik Vesti
Frederik Vesti is a 20-year-old Danish Driver who is a member of the Mercedes Junior team. So far in 2022, Vesti sits 6th place in the Formula 2 Championship standings. His only win so far this season came in the Feature Race in Azerbaijan. Vesti finished 2nd in the F4 Danish Championship in 2017 and became the inaugural Formula Regional European Champion in 2019. In his two seasons in Formula 3, Vesti came 4th both times.
My Verdict: A decent driver who will be high up in the F2 Championship for a few years, but I can’t see him in Formula 1.
Ayumu Iwasa
Ayumu Iwasa is a 20-year-old Japanese Driver who is a member of the Red Bull Junior team. So far in 2022, Iwasa sits 7th place in the F2 Championship with 1 pole, 1 win and 4 podiums. His win came in the Feature race in France. In 2020, Iwasa won the French F4 Championship and that was enough to get signed as a Red Bull Junior driver. He didn’t have the greatest first season in F3 where he finished 12th place but that also ended up being his only season in the series. To say he finished 12th place in F3 and now he is 7th in his first season in Formula 2 is very impressive. Let's see if he can continue to climb higher up in the world of Formula 2.
My Verdict: If he has a really good season next year, he might replace fellow Japanese Driver Yuki Tsunoda or Pierre Gasly at Alpha Tauri in 2024. Having the Honda influence will definitely help.
Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson is a 20-year-old New Zealand Driver who is a member of the Red Bull Junior team. So far in 2022, Lawson sits 8th in the Formula 2 standings with 2 wins and 6 podiums. Both of his wins have come in sprint races, with Jeddah and Hungary being the two rounds. Lawson is a former Toyota Racing Series champion. In his only previous season in Formula 2, Lawson finished ninth in the standings. Lawson will make his Formula 1 debut in FP1 at Belgium, driving for Alpha Tauri.
My Verdict: A solid driver but isn’t as good as other drivers trying to make it into Formula 1.
Jack Doohan
Jack Doohan is a 19-year-old Australian Driver who is currently a member of the Alpine Academy. So far in 2022, Doohan is in 9th place in the Formula 2 Championship. He has 2 wins, 2 poles and 4 podiums which is very impressive. His wins have come in the sprint in Silverstone and the sprint in Budapest. Doohan’s best Championship results came in the 2019 F3 Asian Championship, the 2019/20 F3 Asian Championship and the 2021 Formula 3 Championship where he came second place.
My Verdict: I think Jack is a very good driver who will be in Formula 1 by 2024. If Alpine’s second driver mess continues, Jack could find himself in an Alpine as early as next season.
Dennis Hauger
Dennis Hauger is a 19-year-old Norwegian driver who is a member of the Red Bull Junior team. So far in 2022, Hauger sits 12th in the Championship with wins in the Monaco Sprint and the Baku Feature Race. Hauger won the 2019 Italian F4 Championship and also won the Formula 3 Championship in 2021 after a tough first season. The reason I bring that up is that he hasn’t had the greatest of seasons this year, but I see him being a championship contender in Formula 2 next season.
My Verdict: Dennis Hauger is really good, I see him as one of the favourites to win the Formula 2 Championship next season. He’ll be in Formula 1 by the time he is 21.
Isack Hadjar
Isack Hadjar is a 17-year-old French Driver who is a member of the Red Bull Junior team. So far in 2022, Hadjar is joint 1st in the Formula 3 championship but leads the standings due to more race wins. Hadjar’s three race wins have come in the sprint races at Bahrain and Silverstone and then he won the feature race in Austria. Hadjar’s best championship results came in 2020 where he finished third in the French F4 Championship, and he also managed third place in the Formula Regional Asian Championship earlier on this year. Hadjar became a member of the Red Bull Junior team for 2022.
My Verdict: To be leading the F3 Championship at the age of 17 is very impressive. I am very intrigued to see how much he grows as a driver.
Victor Martins
Victor Martins is a 21-year-old French Driver who is a member of the Alpine Academy. So far in 2022, Martins is 2nd in the Formula 3 Championship but is level on points with the Championship leader. He has 2 wins and 5 podiums. His wins have come in the Bahrain and Spain Feature races. Martins finished 2nd place in the French F4 Championship back in 2017. In 2019, he finished second place in the Formula Renault Eurocup and then managed to win the championship the following season. His only previous season in Formula 3 saw him finish 5th in the standings.
My Verdict: A good driver who should be in Formula 2 next season. 21 isn’t at all old but it is compared to some of his fellow championship rivals.
Arthur Leclerc
Arthur Leclerc is a 21-year-old Monegasque driver who is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He is also the younger brother of Ferrari F1 Driver Charles Leclerc. So far in 2022, Leclerc sits third in the Formula 3 championship, 9 points of the leaders. His only victory so far this season came in the Feature Race at Silverstone. His previous accomplishments have come in a 3rd place finish in the 2019 ADAC Formula 4 Championship and a 2nd place finish in the Formula Regional European Championship. Leclerc managed to win the Formula Regional Asian Championship earlier on this year, beating some of his F3 Rivals to the title.
My Verdict: Leclerc is a sold driver. I don’t see him being in Formula 1 unless he has a mega couple of seasons in Formula 2.
Jak Crawford
Jak Crawford is a 17-year-old American driver who is a member of the Red Bull Junior team. So far in 2022, Crawford is fourth in the Formula 3 Championship with 1 win and 5 podiums. His win came in the Sprint race at Austria. Crawford managed to come second in the 2018/19 NACAM Formula 4 Championship, second again in the 2020 ADAC Formula 4 Championship and then came third in Euroformula Open Championship last year. Jak has a new fan now as he has the same birthdate as me which is crazy.
My Verdict: Crawford is having a good first season in Formula 3. Will be interested to see how far he goes up the motorsport ladder.
Oliver Bearman
Oliver Bearman is a 17-year-old British Driver and a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. So far in 2022, Bearman is fifth in the Formula 3 Championship and is less than a feature race win off the lead of the championship. He is yet to win a race this season but has earnt himself 4 podiums. Bearman’s best year of racing was definitely 2021 where he won both the ADAC Formula 4 Championship and the Italian F4 Championship, a series that he got 11 race wins, 8 poles, 15 podiums and won the title by 111 points. That’s domination!
My Verdict: Look out for this kid. He looks like one for the future.
Jamie Chadwick
Jamie Chadwick is a 24-year-old British Driver who is a member of the Williams Driver Academy. So far in 2022, Chadwick leads the W Series Championship. Chadwick has dominated the series with 5 wins out of a possible six. Her worst race result was P2! She also has 3 poles. Jamie is a former British GT4 Champion and a former MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Champion. Chadwick has also taken part in Extreme E, but she is most famous for her 2 W Series Championships. If she makes it 3 out of 3, she will fully merit a spot in either Formula 3 (where she’s used to the cars) or Formula 2.
My Verdict: Very good driver, really want to see what she’s got in F2/F3. I doubt she’ll make it to Formula 1, but she is the best female racing driver for a long time.
Abbi Pulling
Abbi Pulling is a 19-year-old British Driver and an Alpine affiliate driver. So far in 2022, Pulling is fourth in the W Series Championship with 2 podiums to her name. This is Pulling’s first full season in W Series after her 4 rounds last year. That season was really impressive as she finished 7th in the championship despite only doing half of the races. She also got a Pole at COTA. Abbi Pulling’s best championship result came in the 2020 F4 British Championship where she finished 6th in the standings. The craziest thing with Abbi Pulling is that in all of her championships, she hasn’t won a single race. Surely that will change.
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