Maxwell Esterson (born October 9, 2002) is an American

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 ...

and esports driver, 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

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 ...

. He previously competed in the

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

with

Jenzer Motorsport Jenzer Motorsport is an auto racing team based in Switzerland. Founded in 1993 by Andreas Jenzer the team is currently competing in FIA Formula 3, Italian F4 and F4 Spanish and has had a number of drivers who would turn out to be successful in ...

and in the

GB3 Championship The GB3 Championship is a single seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The championship is the UK's premier single-seater category, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from FIA Formula 4 championships, the GB4 Cha ...

with Fortec Motorsports. He is also a former Red Bull Junior Team member.

Career

Sim racing

Esterson started his

sim racing Sim racing is the collective term for racing games that attempt to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a dr ...

career on

iRacing ''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online sim racing video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tracks, and ...

at the age of 11. He then went on to become one of the top sim-racers in the world, including finishing in 7th place in the 2019 VRS Pro GT Championship. This string of results quickly showed as he was ranked within the top 35 road course drivers in the world and top 4 in the US on the i

Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

program. In 2020 he became champion of the Formula Race Promotions iRacing Challenge. He followed this by winning the 2021 Road to Indy TireRack.com eSeries.

Karting

Esterson started karting when he was almost 16. In 2019 he contested his first partial season in karting at Oakland Valley Race Park, competing with McAleer Racing.

Formula Ford

2020

Esterson made his single-seater racing debut in 2020, competing in the

F1600 Championship Series The F1600 Championship Series was created by the SCCA in 2011. The series is organized by Formula Race Promotions, the same organization which organizes the F2000 Championship Series, and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. It is a series whose champi ...

with Team Pelfrey. He took one victory and finished the season in fifth. He also contested a single race in the F2000 Championship Series at

Pittsburgh International Race Complex Pittsburgh International Race Complex (commonly known as Pitt Race) is an auto racing road course located in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Pitt Race hosts amateur and professional automobile, motorcycle, and karting events. The track Pittsburgh Inter ...

, which he won, setting at the time the track-record. At the end of the year Esterson made his debut at two of the world’s biggest races, the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy. Running with Low-Dempsey Racing, Esterson qualified 2nd in his heat at the Formula Ford Festival, and finished 6th in the Grand Final.

2021

In 2021 Esterson competed in the BRSCC Avon Tyres National Formula Ford Championship for Low Dempsey Racing where he scored two wins and finished third in the Championship. He then went on to finish second in the 50th Anniversary BRSCC Formula Ford Festival and won the 2021 Walter Hayes Trophy as part of the Team USA Scholarship.

2022

He returned to the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy with Ammonite Motorsport in 2022. At the Formula Ford Festival he took pole by 0.8sec, won his heat, won his semifinal and was on pole for the final. Esterson led every lap of the Final and was then awarded victory as the race was shortened due to torrential weather conditions. In the Walter Hayes Trophy Esterson again qualified on pole, won his heat race, won his semifinal and led every lap of the Grand Final for the second year in a row, finishing first but he was then dropped to fifth after a controversial ruling handed him a 4.5-second penalty for a collision with another driver.

GB3 Championship

2022

In 2022 Esterson progressed to the

, partnering Tommy Smith and Marcos Flack at Douglas Motorsport. He started out by taking his first top ten finish in Race 3 at the season opener in

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced Race track, track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England, from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...

, before scoring a pair of fourth places at

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 ...

. The third round of the season at

Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport Race track, circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, sti ...

would prove to be his most successful one, as Esterson achieved his maiden podium in the first race, before winning Race 2 from pole position, thus securing his first win in slicks-and-wings machinery. He finished the season in seventh.

2023

In 2023 he joined Fortec Motorsports in the

. The season started with a series of misfortune, with a multitude of mechanical failures and difficult conditions leading to disappointing finishes in regard to his pace. His qualifying was hampered by a red flag at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

, followed by a technical failure in race two after a strong drive to fourth. He would again make a strong drive in the reverse grid race, setting the fastest lap of the race and making up twelve places in six laps, only to be taken out at Les Combes. An electrical failure at

Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population ...

during qualifying meant that he started at the back of the grid for all three races. His woes were exacerbated in the second

round, where he had two engine failures during free practice, and an underpowered engine for qualifying, despite this, he was able to recover well across the weekend, recovering to 10th and 9th in the first and second races respectively, from 18th on the grid. At the last race in

, Esterson would score his only podium with a third place in race two. Esterson finished the season in 11th, four places lower than the previous year.

FIA Formula 3

At the end of 2022, Esterson took part in the post-season test of the

with

Van Amersfoort Racing Van Amersfoort Racing (; VAR) is an auto racing team based in the Netherlands. The team competes in FIA Formula 2, FIA Formula 3, Formula Regional European, and Italian F4. Notable former drivers for the team include nine Formula One drivers ...

2023

In 2023 he joined Rodin Carlin in the

ahead of the round at

, replacing Hunter Yeany for both that round and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Esterson finished a highest finish of 18th place in Budapest. He returned to his GB3 duties following that, and was replaced in his seat by Euroformula Open racer Francesco Simonazzi for the final two rounds. He was classified 35th, albeit last in the standings. For the post-season tests, Esterson was fielded in by

. Esterson also partook in the

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix (; ) is an annual motorsport road racing event for automobiles and motorcycles held on the Guia Circuit in Macau. The event includes the Formula Regional and Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for Touri ...

with Jenzer.

2024

In 2024, Esterson joined

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 ...

on a full-time basis, teaming up with

. During the Sakhir Formula 3 Sprint Race, he qualified an impressive tenth, and was able to stay in the top 10 throughout the whole race, holding off

Gabriele Minì Gabriele Minì (; born 20 March 2005) is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Prema Racing as part of the Alpine Academy. A member of the Alpine Academy since 2023, He is the 2020 Italian F4 Championship, ...

for sixth place. Esterson would only claim one more points finish in 2024, taking seventh in the Spa-Francorchamps feature race, but impressed at

by qualifying second during a wet-weather session. He finished 21st in the standings, highest of all Jenzer drivers.

FIA Formula 2 Championship

2024

At the end of 2024, Esterson was announced to make his

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 ...

debut with

for the final two rounds of the season, replacing

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 ...

who himself replaced the outgoing

Dennis Hauger Dennis Hauger (; born 17 March 2003) is a Norwegians, Norwegian racing driver who competes in the 2025 Indy NXT with Andretti Global, having previously competed in FIA Formula 2 Championship, Formula 2 from to . He was a member of the Red Bull ...

MP Motorsport MP Motorsport is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, Eurocup-3, Spanish Formula 4 Championship and the newly established F1 Academy in 2023. The team has also participated in ...

2025

Esterson continued with Trident for the 2025 Formula 2 season, alongside

Sami Meguetounif Sami Meguetounif (; born 24 May 2004) is a French racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Trident Racing, Trident. He most recently competed in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship with the same team, finishing eighth ...

Personal life

Esterson grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

going to the

Allen-Stevenson School The Allen-Stevenson School is a private boys school for kindergarten through 8th grade in New York City. It opened in 1883 and has been as its present location since 1924. History The Allen School was founded in 1883 by Francis Bellows Allen ...

and attended Regis High School, graduating in 2021.

Racing record

Career summary

Season still in progress.

Complete GB3 Championship results

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

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

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

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esterson, Max Living people 2002 births Racing drivers from New York City Regis High School (New York City) alumni Formula Ford drivers Team Pelfrey drivers Fortec Motorsport drivers FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers Carlin racing drivers Jenzer Motorsport drivers Rodin Motorsport drivers FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers Trident Racing drivers BRDC British Formula 3 Championship drivers 21st-century American sportsmen