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Junior Drivers: 2023 Season So Far

It's been a busy and eventful first half of the year for our Junior Programme, with plenty of racing action and some strong results.

Most of our Juniors are enjoying some time off to relax and recharge through the August break, so it's the perfect time to shine a spotlight on their seasons so far and what they've been up to.

We have a Junior Driver competing at nearly every level of racing on the ladder to F1. Frederik Vesti is our most senior Junior, competing in Formula 2. Paul Aron is racing in Formula 3, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli is in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA).

We then have our karters, with Alex Powell and Yuanpu Cui competing in the OK category. Luna Fluxá is in the OK Junior class and Kenzo Craigie is our youngest Junior, racing in various karting championships in the UK and Europe.

Here's a run-down of what our Junior Drivers have been up to:

Frederik Vesti

Despite a challenging last round in Belgium before the summer break, it's been a strong season so far for Fred in Formula 2. Racing for Prema, he's currently P2 in the Drivers' Championship, having led the way for a large chunk of the year, and is well and truly in the fight for the title. Fred's scored four victories so far - the most of any driver this season - including brilliant Feature Race wins in Jeddah and Monaco.

Paul Aron

For Paul, his first Formula 3 season has been all about consistency. The Estonian - also racing for Prema - has only had three non-scoring races so far and has scored one victory, plus three further podiums. There's only one round remaining in the F3 calendar - at Monza - and Paul is currently P2 in the standings.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Kimi - as he's more commonly known - started his year strongly by winning the Formula Regional Middle East Championship. He then kicked off his main racing category for the year, FRECA, with Prema and over the opening six rounds, has scored three victories and four second-place finishes. There are still four rounds remaining, but Kimi currently occupies the top spot in the standings.

Alex Powell

Our most experienced karter in the Junior Programme, Alex has had some stand-out results in the OK category this year and has also stepped up to 'shifter' KZ2 karting as well. He's achieved podiums in the FIA European Championship, where he finished P3 overall in the Championship, and the Champions of the Future series - where he currently leads the standings. And he's been right on the pace in his KZ2 races, as well. Alex's next step after the break will be starting his single-seater testing in Formula 4.

Yuanpu Cui

Yuanpu is also racing in the OK class of karting and has been making solid progress throughout the year so far. It's an incredibly competitive category and a busy couple of months at the track across the FIA European Championship, WSK Super Master Series, Champions of the Future and more. Yuanpu will also start focusing on moving into single seaters in the second half of the year and gaining experience in British F4.

Luna Fluxá

Following on from a year full of development and progress last year, Luna has continued to find improvement in 2023 - racing in the OK Junior class of karting. She's shown strong pace at times during her European Championship events and off-track, has also had some exciting moments - including a feature for International Women's Day with clothing brand Mango.

Kenzo Craigie

Kenzo has had a very full-on season so far with races most weekends, either in the UK or across Europe. He joined our Junior Programme at the start of the year and has been making strong progress across many different karting series - from ROTAX Euro to IAME and ROTAX UK. A highlight so far has been the ROTAX Euro Trophy series, where he's been racing against over 60 of the best karting drivers in Europe and is currently sitting fifth in the standings.