Formula 3 rookie Zane Maloney will race for Trident during the Formula 2 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
In late October, Trident revealed that their driver, Calan Williams, would not be racing at the finale in Abu Dhabi. In his place, the team is turning to Formula 3’s Zane Maloney. He had a standout rookie season in F3, finishing second in the Championship for Trident.
Maloney’s History
Maloney was born and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados. The nineteen-year-old made his single-seater debut in 2019, racing in the British Formula 4 Championship for Carlin Racing. Maloney dominated the championship, winning by twenty points, taking ten wins and fifteen podiums over the twenty-race season.
After a year in Euroformula Open where he finished eighth, Maloney moved to the Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) for 2021. After finishing fourth in that championship, Maloney was announced as one of three drivers who would participate in the 2021 Formula 3 post-season testing. He represented Trident who would go on to announce him as one of their drivers for 2022.
This past season in F3, Maloney teamed up with Roman Stanek and Johny Edgar for Trident. Despite Stanek’s advantage in experience, Zane was the star performer of the team. He won three Feature Races in a row and entered the season finale at Monza as one of seven drivers still in contention for the championship. With fellow rivals Victor Martins and Ollie Bearman starting alongside him, the pressure was on for Maloney.
A red flag caused by Kush Maini and Brad Benavides called for the race to end prematurely and Maloney was announced as the winner of the Feature Race. However, Martins already built himself a small gap before Monza and was crowned Formula 3 champion despite finishing fourth. Maloney finished second in the championship by just five points.
We are very proud to announce that @zane_maloney will compete in the final round of the @Formula2 Championship in Abu Dhabi: see you on the racetrack! 💙🔱 #zanemaloney #formula2 #motorsport #tridentteam https://t.co/lsZhwPQJkb
— Trident Team (@trident_team) November 7, 2022
2022 onwards
Calan Williams departed from Trident & F2 to ‘focus on the next steps of his motorsport career’. With one round left of the Formula 2 championship remaining in Abu Dhabi, Trident believes the experience Maloney will gain is the best option for both his future development and for the team.
Maloney is already in contention for a Formula 2 seat in 2023 and with this rare opportunity that Trident has presented him with, it’ll be a huge moment in his young career.
Giacomo Ricci (Trident team manager) stated:
“We are very proud to be able to compete with Zane Maloney in the final event in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Zane, the Barbadian driver, terminated the Formula 3 Championship with three consecutive feature race victories and has proven to be second to no one in terms of competitiveness, almost winning the driver’s title. We are therefore pleased to have Zane on board, once again this year, and we are confident that Trident will be able to provide him with the maximum support and dedication for the challenging Yas Marina Circuit.”
