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Next f1 race5/7/2023 EstoniaĪ decade ago, Estonia had a British F3 champion in Marko Asmer (2007) and a Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion in Kevin Korjus (2010). Renault has made it clear that Zhou’s season wasn’t what it hoped for, but his place in the academy doesn’t seem to be under much of a threat and if he does make a step forward in 2021, his level of backing suggests an F1 promotion should be a foregone conclusion.īut if he stalls, China has a back-up option of sorts in 20-year-old Yifei Ye, a past French F4 champion who was dropped by Renault last year after a poor F3 season but bounced back by thoroughly dominating the Euruformula Open championship. That made him the best-placed newcomer in a season that included now Haas F1 driver Mick Schumacher.īut an electronic issue-induced retirement from pole in last year’s Austria opener set the tone for a disappointing follow-up season, as the 21-year-old never really featured in the title fight despite finally checking off his maiden F2 win at Sochi. The Renault-backed Zhou parlayed a background in UK-based karting into a fairly conventional career up the junior single-seater ladder, and made his credentials clear by finishing seventh in a strong rookie F2 campaign in 2019. Neither Ma nor Tung are on the F1 radar anymore, but their successor Guanyu Zhou (above and below) looks closer than they ever did to finally making a grand prix drive a reality. Likeliest candidatesĬhina’s increased representation in the world of sports isn’t yet reflected on the F1 grid, despite the groundwork laid by a handful of FP1 appearances by Ma Qing Hua at the start of the previous decade (along with Ho-Pin Tung’s sometime role as a Renault test driver). However, the list of countries represented by F1 drivers is bound to expand sooner or later, and there are some names on the junior scene that suggest it could happen very soon.īelow, we offer a sampling of countries that could get their first grand prix driver in the not-too-distant future. Since Indonesia’s Rio Haryanto rocked up in Formula 1 for a 12-race stint at Manor in 2016 before sponsorship dried up and he was dropped in favour of Esteban Ocon, there have been no trailblazers in terms of new countries represented on the F1 grid.Īnd 2021 will be no exception, with a Japanese, a German and a Russian – all familiar countries in F1 driver line-ups – added.
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