Carlin has confirmed its FIA Formula 2 line-up for the 2023 season, with Enzo Fittipaldi switching to the team, as well as FIA F3 graduate and vice champion, Zane Maloney.
Both drivers, are newly announced Red Bull Junior Team drivers for the 2023 season and arrive at Carlin after successful 2022 campaigns.
Fittipaldi already has one full F2 season under his already with Charouz Racing System in ’22, where he took six podium finishes on the way to finish eighth in the Drivers’ Championship.
He first moved to single seater racing full time in 2017, racing in the Italian F4 Championship and finishing 9th. He then followed that up with a full season in Italian and ADAC F4 in 2018 finishing 1st and 3rd respectively.
The Brazilian then went on to finish second in Formula Regional European Championship with two wins and 13 podiums to his name in 2019. Moving to FIA F3 in 2020 brought a difficult spell in 2020, with HWA Racelab in 2020 and Charouz Racing System in 2021. Fittipaldi was promoted to Charouz’s F2 team mid mid-way through ’21 but suffered a serious accident in Jeddah at the penultimate round of the year.
He rebounded from that setback though in style, putting together a strong F2 season with multiple podiums and fighting for top rookie honours.
I’m extremely excited to be joining Carlin and as well to be part of the Red Bull family for the 2023 season. It’s an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait for the first race weekend in Bahrain.
Fittipaldi on his announcement.
Maloney arrives at Carlin after one of his best seasons in racing. He sparked a late title bid with three-consecutive Feature race wins to close the season, ending up only just five points from glory.
He has worked with the team previously, winning the British F4 Championship in his first year of single seater racing back in 2019.
In 2020, he moved to Euroformula Open with the British outfit, finishing that year’s season eighth. Moving to Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine in 2021, winning once and achieving seven podiums on the way to fourth.
The Bajan driver stepped up to FIA Formula 3 with Trident last year, and after a tough spell at the start of the campaign, transformed his season. He took three wins and four podiums, in the final four races made Maloney an unlikely title contender. His efforts won him FIA Rookie of the Year in 2022.
Joining Carlin in F2 and to do so as part of the Red Bull Junior Team is a fantastic opportunity after my first year of F3 last season. I’m re-joining a team I know extremely well and have won a championship with before in F4. I’ve seen first-hand how strong the team are in F2 and we had a great test together last year in Abu Dhabi. To embark on this journey in Red Bull colours is a dream come true and I’m incredibly excited to get the season underway in Bahrain next month.
Maloney on his new seat.
As a Team boss, Enzo and Zane are a dream pairing with both experience and potential. Enzo was a driver who really caught our attention last year and will be looking to build on the strong results he had in his rookie season. Zane was incredibly impressive in his rookie season of F3 and it’s fantastic to welcome him back to Carlin. He certainly needs to focus on building his experience in the first half of the season but I think by the mid-way point we’ll start to see some real flashes of potential.
Trevor Carlin, Team Principal.
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