BERLIN, Germany – Teenaged race car driver Zane Maloney said it has been a learning experience for him driving in Formula 2 (F2) this year, but he was looking forward to making a big impact in three upcoming races.
The 19-year-old Barbadian has made a name for himself on the international motor racing circuit over the past four years, leaving karting behind and now he is only one step below Formula 1 (F1) as a test driver for the world champion, Red Bull Racing team.
In his F2 rookie season, Maloney is 11th in the 22-driver standings on 29 points after four of the 14 races on the schedule for this year, with his best showing a third in the season opener in Bahrain and a solid fifth in Australia.
Maloney said coming to grip with the finer details of driving an F2 car has been his main challenge at the moment.
“I think any car you go into is a little bit different, and you need to adapt to F2 maybe a bit more than others with the turbo and with the big tyres,” he told the GiveMeSport website in a recent interview.
“I think straight away when I got in the car was that first bit is not too difficult to adapt to, but it’s the small details that you learn, and you don’t have lots of time available just to learn.
“I’m just trying to continue to make that learning curve a bit less, let’s say, which I feel that we’re doing a good job of. With a bit of precision, the results will come. So the team and I are really working hard, and I’m up to grips with the F2 car now.”
F2 is part of the undercard of the F1 race weekends and will have three back-to-back races coming at the Italian Grand Prix from May 18 to 20, Monte Carlo Grand Prix from May 24 to 27, and the Spanish Grand Prix from June 1 to 2.
Maloney, a Formula 3 title contender last year, said the three races will be a great opportunity to prove that he is learning and set things up for a strong finish to the season.
“I’ve learnt so much from last year,” he said, recalling his battle to top the standings in the third tier of international motor racing. “Last year after three rounds, I think I had like six points and a lot of DNFs (did not finishes). I mean, I’m not where I want to be right now [in F2,] but I’m in a lot better place than I was 12 months ago.
“I think the biggest thing I learnt from last year is to pick up the points when you can, pick up the most amount of points that you can on that day. And if the win is there, take the win; if the podium is there, take the podium – but don’t try for too much, which I feel I’ve done a good job of that this year so far.
“The goal is to continue to have great rounds, and in F3 last year, we had a great end to the season, and I’m hoping that we can continue to make those steps this season. I’m sure that if we continue to do what we are we’re going to continue to make progress throughout the season and hopefully fight for the title again.”
Maloney drives for the Rodin Carlin team, which is currently sixth in the 11-team drivers’ standings on 60 points – 43 behind leaders Prema Racing.
