Motorsport is a hugely expensive world and talented young drivers have to bring millions to the table to get a drive.
While some can go through established driver academies of top Formula 1 teams such as Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, others pay the entry fees via their own personal, or their family wealth.
For example, in Formula 3, it costs approximately $1.2 million, or £930k, per season and this is approximately half the cost of the next step up in Formula 2.
With many drivers not having such enormous wealth, sponsorships are vital in the sport for young talents to be given their chance to prove themselves on the track.
And one driver in F3 has just landed himself a mega deal with a multi-billion pound company as he embarks on his unlikely journey in racing.
Max Esterson has landed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Alarm.com
Max Esterson began his career in sim racing, winning several competitions and ranking in the top four in the USA on the iRacing program.
The American started racing single-seaters in 2020 in the F1600 Championship Series, where he won one race and finished fifth overall.
Esterson moved to the National Formula Ford Championship the next year and finished third in the standings and spent the following two years in the GB3 Championship, achieving a best result of seventh in the series in 2022.
He drove at Silverstone and Budapest in place of fellow American Hunter Yeany for Rodin Carlin in F3 last season, before getting a full-time drive with Jenzer this year.
And as the 2024 season nears its conclusion, Esterson has landed a new sponsorship with Alarm.com on a multi-year deal.
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Alarm.com, who have an estimated net worth of $2.97bn, or £2.3bn, help people manage and control their properties remotely, including security, video and energy management.
In a press release, the company’s Vice President of Marketing Stephanie Kinney said that Esterson’s career aligns with what Alarm.com are striving to achieve in their business.
“Max Esterson is an ideal co-pilot to drive awareness of Alarm.com’s winning solutions and technology,” she said.
“Max’s journey exemplifies speed, accuracy and innovation—qualities we bring to our products every day.
“Just as Max is bridging the virtual and physical racing worlds, Alarm.com is innovating to connect software and physical systems that have a real-world impact on millions of home and business owners worldwide.”
Max Esterson is enduring a difficult season in Formula 3
Esterson, the only American driver in Formula 3, has found 2024 to be a challenging year and still only has 11 points to his name in the championship.
He scored points on debut in the sprint race in Bahrain with a career-best sixth place, but has struggled to find consistency.
In the next 16 races, Esterson would only achieve three top-15 finishes and suffered two retirements as he languished towards the back.
Last time out at Spa, he achieved his second F3 points finish with seventh in the feature race, which leaves him 21st in the drivers’ standings heading into the final round at Monza.