Max Esterson will be making the step up to Formula 2 as he will compete in the final two rounds of the 2024 season.
The American will be racing with Trident in Qatar and Abu Dhabi as the replacement for Richard Verschoor who has signed with MP Motorsport for the remainder of this season and in 2025.
The Dutchman will be taking the place of Dennis Hauger who will be moving to Indy NXT with Andretti next year.
Esterson comes to Formula 2 off the back of his first full campaign in Formula 3, where he suffered a difficult season with Jenzer Motorsport.
Following Trident’s announcement of the 22-year-old, his new teammate Christian Mansell took to Instagram to send him a welcoming message.
Christian Mansell sends welcoming message to Max Esterson after he confirmed his move to Trident
Esterson made his debut in F3 last season with Rodin Carlin, where he took part in the rounds at Silverstone and Budapest, failing to score a point.
Moving to Jenzer for a full-time assault at the championship, the American scored points at the first race of the season in Bahrain, finishing sixth in the Sprint Race.
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This would turn out to be Esterson’s best result of the season and he would not score points again until the Feature Race at Spa, where he finished seventh.
The 22-year-old finished the season 21st in the standings with 11 points; the highest-placed Jenzer driver in 2024. Despite these disappointing results, he will make the step to F2, with Esterson coming to Trident with substantial financial backing.
Esterson’s teammate Mansell also made the step up from F3 to F2 this season, after Trident opted to part ways with Roman Stanek. The Aussie scored a point in both races on his debut in Baku.
And Mansell took to the comments of Trident’s announcement of Esterson’s signing to say to his former F3 competitor: “Welcome mate!”
Richard Verschoor wants to race in IndyCar in his career
With Esterson joining Trident, Verschoor makes his return to MP Motorsport, where he spent his first season in F2 with back in 2021.
The Dutchman will be entering his fifth season in the category in 2025, having won a race in every season he has competed in.
Verschoor has recorded a best finish of ninth in the standings in 2023 with Van Amersfoort Racing, The 23-year-old is currently 10th in the standings in 2024 with two rounds to go, having collected one win and four podiums thus far.
Verschoor has expressed his desire to race in IndyCar at some point in his career, but with his vast experience in Europe, it will present an entirely new challenge for the Dutchman.