One of my first ever motorsport/F1 articles on my website was about 15 of the Best Up and Coming Racing Drivers and it’s now time for me to do my 2023 Edition. It’s also worth mentioning that every driver on this list wasn’t on it last year so it’s completely different (that’s not to say that the guys from last year aren’t still up and coming).
Richard Verschoor
Richard Verschoor is a 22-year-old Dutch racing driver who currently drives for Van Amersfoort Racing in FIA Formula 2. Richard previously won both the 2016 SMP F4 and Spanish F4 Championships and he also finished second in the Championship in the 2018 Toyota Racing Series (he finished third the year before). The Spanish F4 win was particularly impressive as he won 17 of the 20 races. When it comes to Formula 2, Verschoor has won 3 Races, taken 6 Podiums, and has a highest Championship finish of 12th. So far in 2023, Richard is 5th in F2 with 1 Race victory to his name (Austria Feature). The highest praise I can give Richard Verschoor this season is he’s scored more points at the halfway stage of this Formula 2 season than VAR scored in the entirety of the 2022 Formula 2 Season.
My Verdict: Verschoor is a good racing driver who continues to overperform in FIA Formula 2. However, I can’t see him getting to F1.
Enzo Fittipaldi
Enzo Fittipaldi is a 21-year-old Brazilian-American racing driver who currently drives for Rodin Carlin in FIA Formula 2 and is a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. Enzo previously won the 2018 Italian F4 Championship, finished 3rd in the 2018 ADAC Formula 4 Championship, and finished 2nd in the 2019 Formula Regional European Championship. When it comes to Formula 2, Fittipaldi has achieved 8 Podiums in 2 seasons and he brilliantly finished 8th in the Championship for Charouz last year. So far in 2023, Enzo is 8th in the F2 Championship with two Podiums to his name (both P2).
My Verdict: Enzo Fittipaldi has a decent shot at making F1 due to being backed by Red Bull. However, he’s arguably underperformed this year compared to last year (or maybe he just massively overperformed in his first year in F2).
Kush Maini
Kush Maini is a 22-year-old Indian racing driver who currently drives for Campos Racing in FIA Formula 2. Kush previously finished 3rd in the 2018 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship before he finished 2nd two years later. So far in 2023, Maini is 10th in the Championship in his first season in Formula 2 and he’s also achieved 1 Podium finish (P3 in the Australian Sprint). Kush Maini is having a pretty good season as he’s beating his much more experienced teammate by 15 points and he’s helping Campos have their best season in Formula 2 for years.
My Verdict: Kush Maini has come out of relatively nowhere to have a pretty good season in Formula 2. Not sure he’ll make it much further though.
Zane Maloney
Zane Maloney is a 19-year-old Barbadian racing driver who currently drives for Rodin Carlin in FIA Formula 2 and is a member of the Red Bull Junior Programme. Zane previously became F4 British Champion in 2019 and he finished second in last season’s FIA Formula 3 Championship (he was only 5 points off winning the title). So far in 2023, Maloney is 11th in the Championship in his first season in Formula 2 with 2 Podiums to his name (P3 in both the Bahrain and Monaco Feature Races). I think Zane might be a little bit disappointed to not be higher up in the Championship standings, but he’s only 9 points behind his teammate who’s done 1 more season than him in F2.
My Verdict: I think Zane is a decent driver, but I can’t see him getting to F1. He could definitely compete in Formula E though.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Gabriel Bortoleto is an 18-year-old Brazilian racing driver who currently drives for Trident in FIA Formula 3. Gabriel’s best championship finishes include 5th in Italian F4 (2020) and 6th in the Formula Regional European Championship (2022). So far in 2023, Bortoleto is leading the Formula 3 Championship by 36 points. Bortoleto has won 2 Races (Bahrain and Australia Feature Races) and he’s only failed to finish in the points once this season (Bahrain Sprint). Considering his lack of accolades before this season, Gabriel is having an amazing season.
My Verdict: Excited to see if Bortoleto can hold on to win the Formula 3 Championship this year. Certainly got a lot of potential and that’s probably why he’s a part of 2-time World Champion Fernando Alonso’s management team.
Pepe Marti
Pepe Marti is an 18-year-old Spanish racing driver who currently drives for Campos Racing in FIA Formula 3. Pepe previously finished third in the 2021 F4 Spanish Championship (which was won by Dilano van ‘t Hoff) and he then went on to finish second in the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship (only behind Arthur Leclerc). So far in 2023, Marti is second in Formula 3 with 3 Race wins (including at home) and a Pole position to his name (also at home). The most amazing thing about Pepe Marti’s season is no one in Campos Racing’s history in F3 has scored more than 64 points and finished higher than 10th in the Championship (Marti currently has 75 points).
My Verdict: Marti must be a really good driver because I really don’t understand how he’s so high up in the Championship in a Campos. Marti is also a part of Fernando Alonso’s management team and he could have a bright future ahead.
Dino Beganovic
Dino Beganovic is a 19-year-old Swedish-Bosnian racing driver who currently drives for Prema Racing in FIA Formula 3 and is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. Dino previously finished 3rd in Italian F4 (2020) and he won the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship. So far in 2023, Bortoleto is 3rd in the Championship in his first season in Formula 3 and he’s achieved 3 Podium finishes (all in Feature Races). He’s also the leading Prema driver in the Championship.
My Verdict: Dino looks like a really talented driver who’s having a really good first season in FIA Formula 3. He’s also backed by Ferrari so there’s no reason that he can’t go far in the world of motorsport.
Zak O’Sullivan
Zak O’Sullivan is an 18-year-old British racing driver who currently drives for Prema Racing in FIA Formula 3 and is a member of the Williams Driver Academy. Zak previously finished second in both the 2019 Ginetta Junior Championship and the 2020 F4 British Championship before he won the 2021 GB3 Championship (he won the title by 154 points)! When it comes to Formula 3, O’Sullivan has won 3 Races, taken 1 Pole position, and finished on the Podium 5 times (he finished 11th in the Championship last year which was very impressive considering it was in a Carlin). So far in 2023, Zak O’Sullivan is 4th in F3 with 3 race victories to his name.
My Verdict: This guy looks really good. Definitely deserves to be in F2 next year if he keeps doing what he’s doing.
Gabriele Mini
Gabriele Mini is an 18-year-old Italian racing driver who currently drives for Hitech Pulse-Eight in FIA Formula 3 and is a member of the Alpine Academy. Gabriele previously won the 2020 Italian F4 Championship and he finished 2nd in last year’s Formula Regional European Championship. So far in 2023, Mini is 5th in the Formula 3 Championship and he’s achieved 1 Race win and two Pole positions. It’s also worth mentioning that Mini is the leading Hitech driver in the F3 Championship which is always a positive sign.
My Verdict: I rate Gabriele Mini and I think his Alpine connection will help him, particularly as quite a few talented drivers have come from that programme.
Paul Aron
Paul Aron is a 19-year-old Estonian racing driver who currently drives for Prema Racing in FIA Formula 3 and is a member of the Mercedes Junior Team. Paul previously finished 3rd in the 2019 Italian F4 Championship as well as both the 2021 and 2022 Formula Regional European Championships. So far in 2023, Aron is 6th in Formula 3 with 1 Race victory and 3 Podiums to his name. Paul will probably be disappointed to be behind both of his Prema teammates in the Championship, but he is within 10 points of both of them so he can still easily be Prema’s main man come the end of the season.
My Verdict: Definitely helps to have the Mercedes backing, but I’ve seen better prospects.
Franco Colapinto
Franco Colapinto is a 20-year-old Argentine-Italian racing driver who currently drives for MP Motorsport in FIA Formula 3 and is a member of the Williams Driver Academy. Franco previously won the F4 Spanish Championship in 2019 and finished 3rd in both the 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup and Toyota Racing Series (he finished ahead of Yuki Tsunoda). So far in 2023, Colapinto is 7th in the Formula 3 Championship and he’s achieved 2 Podiums (both P2). Considering MP aren’t one of the strongest teams in F3, Franco Colapinto’s doing a pretty good job and he’s miles clear of his teammates in the Championship.
My Verdict: A promising young driver who could definitely compete for the Formula 3 Championship in a stronger team. Whether he does that or not will probably decide just how far he goes up the motorsport ladder.
Luke Browning
Luke Browning is a 21-year-old British racing driver who currently drives for Hitech Pulse-Eight in FIA Formula 3 and is a member of the Williams Driver Academy. Luke previously finished 3rd in both the 2018 Ginetta Junior Championship and the 2021 ADAC Formula 4 Championship whilst he won both the 2020 F4 British and 2022 GB3 Championships. So far in 2023, Browning is 9th in Formula 3 with 1 Podium finish (P2 in the Spanish Sprint). Whilst Browning’s having a decent first season in F3, he’ll be disappointed that he’s 27 points behind one of his teammates.
My Verdict: Luke Browning clearly has a pretty good junior record up to this point. However, it feels like he needs to beat his teammate and there are more promising young drivers in the Williams Academy.
Taylor Barnard
Taylor Barnard is a 19-year-old British racing driver who currently drives for Jenzer Motorsport in FIA Formula 3. Taylor previously finished second in both the 2022 ADAC Formula 4 and 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championships. So far in 2023, Barnard is 15th in the Formula 3 Championship and he’s scored 16 points. Whilst this might not sound super impressive, Taylor Barnard is driving for Jenzer and they’ve been one of the worst teams in F3 since they started back in 2019. Also, his two teammates have scored a combined total of 1 point this season.
My Verdict: I think Barnard looks really promising and could compete for the Formula 3 title if he was in a more competitive team.
Linus Lundqvist
Linus Lundqvist is a 24-year-old Swedish racing driver and he’s recently started to drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia Championship. Linus previously won the 2016 Formula STCC Nordic Championship, the 2018 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, the 2020 Formula Regional Americas Championship, and the 2022 Indy Lights title. So far in 2023, Lundqvist is 7th in the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia Championship and he’s also been taking part in test days for both IndyCar and Formula E.
My Verdict: It’s extremely harsh that the Indy Lights Champion (what F2 is to F1) hasn’t got a proper seat right now. However, I do expect him to get one either in IndyCar or Formula E next year and I think he’d do pretty well.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is a 16-year-old Italian racing driver who currently drives for Prema Racing in the Formula Regional European Championship and is a member of the Mercedes Junior Team. Andrea previously won both the 2022 Italian F4 and ADAC Formula 4 Championships as well as this year’s Formula Regional Middle East Championship. The crazy thing about Kimi is, every Championship that he drives every race during the season in, he wins. So far in 2023, Antonelli is 2nd in the Formula Regional European Championship with 1 Race win, 1 Pole position, and 4 Podiums to his name. Kimi is only 4 points off the Championship lead.
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