Roman Staněk Jr. (; born 25 February 2004) is a Czech

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

, who competes in the

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...

for

Invicta Racing Invicta Racing is a British auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Owned by the Invicta Watch Group, it started racing in 2024 by gradually absorbing Virtuosi Racing's Formula 2 team, a process it completed in 20 ...

. He previously competed in

FIA Formula 3 The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formu ...

for three seasons, where he placed fifth in 2022, and is also the 2019 ADAC Formula 4 rookies' champion. In , he debuted in

FIA Formula 2 The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of ...

with

Trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

before leaving the team mid-.

Career

Karting

Staněk began karting internationally in 2014, competing in the 60 MINI category until 2016. The following year he moved up to OK Junior, and in 2018 he took part in the

Karting World Championship The FIA Karting World Championship, officially known as the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA. Hosted annually since 1964, it is widely regarded as the ...

in the OK category.

Lower formula championships

Staněk made his single-seater debut in early 2019 at the last round of the

Formula 4 UAE Championship The Formula 4 UAE Championship was an FIA-certified Formula 4 racing series. It was launched by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, and its national affiliate the Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates, Automobile & Tour ...

, as a guest driver for Dragon Racing. He was named as a development driver for the

Sauber Junior Team The Sauber Academy, formerly known as the Sauber Junior Team, is a driver development programme by Sauber Motorsport to support drivers from karts through the feeder series ladder to promote them to their Formula One team. In November 2018, S ...

in 2019. For the main season he combined the

ADAC Formula 4 ADAC Formula 4 () was a racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was the 2015 ADAC Formula 4. It replaced the ADAC Formel Masters, held from 2008 to 2014. History Gerhard Berger and the FIA Single S ...

and

Italian F4 Italian Formula 4 Championship is the first formula racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, effectively replacing the Formula Abarth. The Italian F4 championship ...

championships, driving for the

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...

-backed

US Racing US Racing is an auto racing team based in Kerpen, Germany. History US Racing is the joint Formula 4 team of Ralf Schumacher and Gerhard Ungar. The championship team of the ADAC Formula 4 season 2015 has moved its seat to Kerpen at the end of 2 ...

- CHRS team in both. Eventually racking up three race wins and nine podiums across the two series, he was especially successful in the former, where he finished 4th in the standings and won the rookies' championship ahead of Mercedes junior

Paul Aron Paul Aron (; born 4 February 2004) is an Estonian racing driver who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Alpine F1 Team, Alpine. Aron most recently competed in the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship for Hitech Grand Prix, Hitech. Aron pr ...

. He starred at the opening round in

Oschersleben Oschersleben () is a town in the Börde district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The population in 1905 was 13,271, in 2020 about 19,000. History On November 23, 994 Oschersleben was first mentioned in a document by the Emperor Otto III. In 1235 ...

, getting a 2nd place and a commanding race 3 win which saw him take the lead of the championship. His other two victories of the season came in the ADAC F4

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

and Italian F4

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

rounds.

FIA Formula 3

2020

Staněk was originally due to drive for the

Prema Powerteam Prema Racing, previously known as Prema Powerteam, is an Italian motorsport team, owned and operated through the ''DC Racing Solutions'' parent company. Founded in 1983, the team is based in Grisignano di Zocco and currently operates out of Ita ...

in the 2020 Formula Regional European Championship, but later during the

COVID-19 lockdown During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

, switched to

Charouz Racing System Charouz Racing System (CHRS, also was known as Lotus in World Series Formula V8 3.5) is a racing team from Czech Republic, created in 1985 by . History In the 1980s, Charouz participated in the European Championship of Circuit Races' 1600 ...

for what he thought was a

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 to 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name returned aga ...

drive. He was instead placed in one of the team's

seats on the Thursday prior to the season opener, replacing the outgoing

Niko Kari Niko Kari (born 6 October 1999) is a Finnish former racing driver who last raced in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Jenzer Motorsport. He won his first single-seater championship, the 2015 SMP F4 Championship, in his debut year in car racing ...

and becoming the youngest driver in the championship. With no previous testing, he struggled throughout the season, his sole points-scoring finish coming at the penultimate round in

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. Staněk later described the move as "a mistake I really regret, because it could have ruined my career".

2021

For the 2021 season, Staněk joined

Hitech Grand Prix Hitech Grand Prix (formerly Hitech Racing, currently racing as Hitech TGR for sponsorship reasons) is a British motor racing team. It was founded by Dennis Rushen and David Hayle in 2002 and relaunched by Oliver Oakes in 2015. Currently, Hite ...

to race in the

F3 Asian Championship The Formula Regional Asian Championship was an FIA-certified regional Formula 3 racing series, which started in 2018. On 26 January 2018 it was confirmed that pan-Asian promoter Top Speed would organise the championship. Despite using Formula R ...

and

. He finished 10th in the former and 16th in the latter, with two podium finishes. He also made a one-off appearance in the

Euroformula Open The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...

for Team Motopark at

and managed to take a win and a second place.

2022

In 2022, upon testing for them in post-season, Staněk moved to reigning teams' champions

for his third season in

. Following a bad start to the season at

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, where he suffered punctures in both races that sent him down the order, the Czech driver achieved his first-ever F3 victory in

, putting himself third in the championship after two rounds. Staněk would continue this form into the next weekend at

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, where he took pole position. During the feature race, he lost the lead to

Victor Martins Victor Martins (; born 16 June 2001) is a French racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for ART Grand Prix as part of the Williams Driver Academy. A former member of the Alpine Academy and a member of the Williams Driver A ...

, but still finished in second place. Misfortune caught Staněk in

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

, where a collision with

Grégoire Saucy Grégoire Matthieu Saucy (; born 26 December 1999) is a Swiss racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for United Autosports. Saucy won the 2021 Formula Regional European Championship with ART Grand Prix, ART. Junio ...

forced him out of the race. The Czech driver wouldn't score a better finish than fifth in the following two rounds, before bouncing back into title contention with two second places at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

. Having scored more points at

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

, Staněk arrived at the season finale in

sitting third in the drivers' standings. Despite a positive qualifying session, Staněk was unable to take advantage in the races, which meant that he finished fifth in the championship.

FIA Formula 2 Championship

2023

Stanĕk partook in the 2022 F2 post-season test with

. On 11 January 2023, it was announced that he would be promoted to Formula 2 on a full-time basis with the Italian outfit, partnering Frenchman

Clément Novalak Clément Novalak (; born 23 December 2000) is a French and Swiss racing driver who competes in the European Le Mans Series for TDS Racing. Novalak won the GB3 Championship, BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Carlin in 2019 BRDC British For ...

. The season proved challenging, and despite flashes of speed that included a run from 22nd to seventh at

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and qualifying third at

, the Czech driver finished 18th in the standings. Staněk took part in the

2023 Macau Grand Prix The 2023 Macau Grand Prix (formally the 70th Macau Grand Prix – FIA F3 World Cup) was a motor race for Formula Three cars held on the Guia Circuit, streets of Macau on 19 November 2023. The Macau Grand Prix served as a non-championship round ...

for

, a race where he finished 12th.

2024

After a period of financial uncertainty, Staněk eventually found new sponsorship from the

Czechoslovak Group The Czechoslovak Group (CSG), formerly Excalibur Group, is a Czech industrial-technological holding company encompassing over 100 companies with over 10,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Prague, CSG operates in several sectors including d ...

(CSG) and was retained by

to partner

Richard Verschoor Richard Verschoor (; born 16 December 2000) is a Dutch racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for MP Motorsport. Verschoor graduated to Formula 2 in 2021 Formula 2 Championship, 2021 with MP Motorsport before switching to ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. He achieved his first Formula 2 win in the third round at

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, after a fruitful defensive display and a penalty to on-track winner

Isack Hadjar Isack Alexandre Hadjar (, ; born 28 September 2004) is a French and Algerian racing driver who competes Formula One drivers from France, under the French flag in Formula One for Racing Bulls. Born and raised in Paris to an Algerian family, Hadj ...

. Following the Monza round, Staněk parted ways with Trident owing to unsatisfactory equipment and lack of budget, and was replaced by

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

graduate

Christian Mansell Christian Mansell (born 9 February 2005) is an Australian racing driver, who most recently competed in the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship for Trident. He previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship from 2022 to 2024, finishing fifth ...

. He finished the season in 22nd overall with fourteen points.

2025

Despite missing the final three rounds in , Staněk would continue in

for 2025 with

, partnering 2024 FIA Formula 3 champion

Leonardo Fornaroli Leonardo Fornaroli (born 3 December 2004) is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Invicta Racing. Fornaroli won the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship in his second year with Trident Motorsport, Trident, and ...

Karting record

Karting career summary

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season still in progress.
^† As Staněk was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† As Staněk was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete F3 Asian Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) * Season still in progress.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Staněk, Roman 2004 births Living people Sportspeople from Valašské Meziříčí Czech racing drivers Italian F4 Championship drivers ADAC Formula 4 drivers FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers F3 Asian Championship drivers Charouz Racing System drivers US Racing drivers MP Motorsport drivers Hitech Grand Prix drivers Motopark Academy drivers Trident Racing drivers Euroformula Open Championship drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Karting World Championship drivers UAE F4 Championship drivers FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers Sauber Motorsport drivers Virtuosi Racing drivers 21st-century Czech sportsmen