Bajan sensation Maloney welcomes break to reflect; hopes to end F2 season on high

By Sports Desk September 15, 2023
Zane Maloney Zane Maloney

Barbadian teenage sensation Zane Maloney welcomed an almost three-month break to reflect ahead of the final Formula 2 race for the year on November 25 in Abu Dhabi.

Formula 2 is the second tier to Formula 1 racing organised by the FIA, motor sport’s world governing body, and held on select circuits on the F1 schedule.

It is the ultimate training ground for prospective F1 drivers, providing them with the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of F1 teams on some of the most challenging and renowned racing circuits in the world.

Maloney, 19, has been enjoying fairly good form this season with second-place finishes at the British Grand Prix in July at Silverstone, and the Dutch Grand Prix in August at Zandvoort, complemented by third-places at the Bahrain Grand Prix at the start of the season in March at Sakhir, and the Monaco Grand Prix in May at Monte Carlo.

He heads into the break occupying 10th position in the 22-driver standings on 96 points, after 13 of the 14 races on the schedule for this year, with the final race of the season at the Yas Marina circuit.

 “I’d love to have a race next weekend to be honest, but I’ll just be focusing on life in general, have some time at home, train hard, and be back for Abu Dhabi,” the Rodin Carlin driver told F2.com website.

“We’re nowhere near where we want to be in the Championship, but we are there on pace. Hopefully, we’ll have a very good race, and I’ll put myself in a good position for what’s to come next year.

“It’s a nice circuit (Yas Marina). In terms of targets, it’s always to get on the podium and win races. We’ll see. I’m going to go home first, relax with family. The team are doing a great job, so we’ll be back in Abu Dhabi strong,” he added during the recent interview.

On that note, Maloney reflected on his recent setback when he crashed out of contention at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

“It was a really good race actually. I was P14 after the first lap. When the crash happened, I was probably net P10, and we would have already made up 10 places, which is a good day at the office. Pace was good, I was just driving down the straight and then one second later I’m heading to the wall,” Maloney shared.

“To be honest, I didn’t really take much away from the race. We knew that we had good pace all weekend, but I qualified bad, which put us in a difficult situation. Everything became difficult after that. We had good pace, but that wasn’t a surprise,” he noted.

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