Zane Maloney will be moving away from the junior categories and into a new challenge for 2025.
The Barbadian driver will be moving to Formula E for the 2024/25 season with ABT-Lola as they switch back to being a factory team, having ran Mahindra powertrain for the past two years.
Maloney will become the second youngest driver in Formula E history behind Taylor Barnard who will race for McLaren in Season 11. The 20-year-old will be partnered with the 2016/17 FE champion Lucas di Grassi, who is the oldest driver on the grid having competed in every season thus far since 2014/15.
Maloney is currently in his second full season in Formula 2 in 2024 with Rodin Motorsport and had put himself in the fight for the championship as he sits third in the standings.
But following the news that he will be joining FE, the Barbadian will not complete the F2 season due to his new commitments to ABT-Lola.
Zane Maloney says things out of his control have put him on the ‘backfoot’ in Formula 2 this season
Maloney started the 2024 F2 campaign in the best possible way, scoring his first two wins in the category by winning both races in Bahrain.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Zane Maloney from stats, family to racing career
The 20-year-old would claim a further five podiums across the season to put him 34.5 points behind championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto with two rounds to go.
But the Rodin driver has had his difficulties this season, with three retirements and failing to score points at either race at Spielberg, Budapest and last time out in Baku.
Speaking with Autosport, Maloney admitted that things out of his control have put him on the ‘backfoot’ this season, whilst also struggling for pace at certain rounds.
“I think it’s been a good year, we struggled for maybe one or two rounds on pace and then it’s things outside of our control that happen in championships in general,” he said.
“Maybe we had a bit more of that this year than what we had hoped for so that kind of put us on the backfoot.
“Up until the last couple of rounds, we were in the fight. I do still think we’re in the fight, but I’m now moving my focus over to this [Formula E] opportunity, which then takes me back out the fight. It’s been a year of being in the fight, being out of the fight, but I’ve always pushed as hard as I can and the team have been doing a great job.
“I feel like I’m driving at a very high level. We won’t have that championship to show for it, but I think everyone who needs to know what happened this year knows and that’s the main point.”
Zane Maloney will not complete the Formula 2 season due to Formula E commitments
While Maloney is set to race in Qatar, due to a clash with the season opener at Sao Paulo in FE, the Barbadian will be unable to compete in Abu Dhabi in F2.
READ MORE: Oscar Piastri shares the major ‘attitude’ difference between Formula 2 and F1
Rodin are yet to confirm who will take Maloney’s place but with the 20-year-old now officially out of the title picture, Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar will battle it out in the final two rounds for the crown.
Bortoleto holds a slim four-and-a-half-point advantage over Hadjar going into Qatar, having won two wins and scored points in all but two races of the last nine rounds.
Hadjar has more wins than any other driver this season with four Feature Race wins, but goes into Qatar having failed to score points at six of the last seven races.