Carlin finalises 2023 line-up with Enzo Fittipaldi and Zane Maloney

Carlin has confirmed its FIA Formula 2 line-up for the 2023 season with Enzo Fittipaldi partnering FIA F3 graduate and vice champion, Zane Maloney.

Both are newly announced Red Bull Junior Team drivers for the 2023 season and arrive at Carlin after successful 2022 campaigns.

Fittipaldi has one full F2 season under his belt already with Charouz Racing System in ’21, taking six podium finishes on the way to eighth in the Drivers’ Championship.

He moved to single seater racing full-time in 2017, racing in Italian F4 Championship and finishing 9th that year. He followed that up with full seasons in Italian and ADAC F4 in 2018, finishing 1st and 3rd respectively.

The Brazilian finishes second in Formula Regional European Championship with two wins and 13 podiums to his name in 2019. Moving to FIA Formula 3 in 2020 brought a difficult spell, firstly with HWA Racelab in 2020 and Charouz Racing System in 2021. Fittipaldi was promoted to Charouz’s F2 team mid-way through ‘21 but suffered a serious accident in Jeddah at the penultimate round of the year.

He rebounded from that setback though in style, putting together a strong F2 season with multiple podiums and fighting for top rookie honours.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining Carlin and as well to be part of the Red Bull family for the 2023 season," Fittipaldi said of his announcement. "It’s an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait for the first race weekend in Bahrain.”

Maloney arrives at Carlin after one of his best seasons in racing. He sparked a late title bid with three-consecutive Feature Race wins to close the season, ending up just five points from glory.

He has worked with the team previously, winning the British F4 Championship in his first year of single seater racing back in 2019.

In 2020, he moved to Euroformula Open with the British outfit, finishing that year’s season eighth. Moving to Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine in 2021, winning once and achieving seven podiums on the way to fourth.

The Bajan driver stepped up to FIA Formula 3 with Trident last year, and after a tough spell at the start of the campaign, transformed his season. Three wins and four podiums in the final four races made Maloney an unlikely title contender. His efforts won him FIA Rookie of the Year in 2022.

“Joining Carlin in F2 and to do so as part of the Red Bull Junior Team is a fantastic opportunity after my first year of F3 last season," Maloney said. "I’m re-joining a team I know extremely well and have won a championship with before in F4. I’ve seen first-hand how strong the team are in F2 and we had a great test together last year in Abu Dhabi. To embark on this journey in Red Bull colours is a dream come true and I’m incredibly excited to get the season underway in Bahrain next month.”

Team Principal Trevor Carlin added, “As a Team boss, Enzo and Zane are a dream pairing with both experience and potential. Enzo was a driver who really caught our attention last year and will be looking to build on the strong results he had in his rookie season. Zane was incredibly impressive in his rookie season of F3 and it’s fantastic to welcome him back to Carlin. He certainly needs to focus on building his experience in the first half of the season but I think by the mid-way point we’ll start to see some real flashes of potential.”