Max Esterson’s rise through the ranks of motorsport is a testament to the dedication and talent that got him a spot in the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Esterson, born in New York City on October 9, 2002 to former race car mechanic/designer Robin Esterson, started his journey in sim racing before moving on to real-world racing, where he gained recognition in junior single-seaters. Esterson has credited COVID-19 and the start of online schooling for allowing him to start his career with the support of his family. He moved to the United Kingdom in 2021 while finishing up high school online to pursue his dream of becoming a real-life driver.
Sim Racing
Esterson’s older brother received the game and proper equipment for iRacing for Christmas, but Esterson fell in love with it instead. He started his sim racing career at 11 years old without thinking of making it a professional career. Esterson then became one of the top sim races in the world. In the 2019 VRS Pro GT Championship, he finished in seventh place. Soon after, he ranked among the top 35 road course drivers and ranked in the top 4 US iRacing drivers. Esterson also became the champion of the Formula Race Promotions iRacing Challenge in 2020 and the 2021 Road to Indy TireRack.com eSeries.
Karting
Having only just got his drivers learners permit, Esterson started karting when he was almost 16 at a racing camp in Upstate New York. This was his first time in a kart. He partook in his first partial karting season at Oakland Valley Race Park in 2019. He competed with McAleer Racing.
Formula Ford
Esterson made his single-seater debut in 2020. He started competing in the F1600 Championship series with Team Pelfrey. He finished the season with one win and fifth in the standings. Esterson also competed in a single race in the F2000 Championship Series at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in which he won, setting the track record. By the end of the year, Esterson made a debut in two of the world’s biggest races, the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy. In the Formula Ford Festival, Esterson drove with Low-Dempsey Racing and qualified second. He finished sixth in the Grand Final.
In 2021, Esterson competed in the BRSCC Avon Tyres National Formula Ford Championship for Low-Dempsey Racing again. In this championship, he gained two wins and finished third overall. He then finished second in the 50th Anniversary BRSCC Formula Ford Festival. Esterson won the Team USA Scholarship as well when he won the 2021 Walter Hayes Trophy.
Driving for Ammonite Motorsport, Esterson returned to the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy in 2022. At the Formula Ford Festival, he took pole position by 0.8 seconds, won the race and semifinal, and stood on pole for the final. Esterson led every lap of the shortened final, winning because of the undrivable weather. In the Walter Hayes Trophy, he qualified on pole again, won the race and semifinal, and led every lap of the Grand Final for the second year in a row. He finished first but then dropped to fifth after a controversial ruling gave him a 4.5-second penalty for a collision with another driver. From April to December 2022, Esterson was also a part of the Red Bull Junior Team.
GB3 Championship
Esterson progressed to the GB3 Championship in 2022 and partnered with Tommy Smith and Marcos Flack at Douglas Motorsport. He then started taking his first top-ten finish in Race 3 at the season opener in Oulton Park before scoring fourth place at Silverstone. In the third round at Donington Park, he achieved his maiden podium in the first race before winning Race 3 from pole position. He finished the season in seventh place.
For the 2023 season, Esterson joined Fortec Motorsports. The season started with several mechanical failures and hard conditions, resulting in a lack of pace. At the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Qualifying had a red flag, which made achieving a more suitable position and pace more difficult. This race also ended in a technical failure for Esterson. In the Reverse Grid Race, he was gaining confidence by setting the fastest lap of the race and made up twelve places in six laps only to be taken out at Les Combes. At the Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Esterson had an electrical failure, causing him to be at the back of the grid for all three races. Even at the second Silverstone Circuit round, he had two engine failures during Free Practice and an underpowered engine for Qualifying. Despite these difficulties, Esterson recovered well across the weekend, recovering to 10th and 9th in the first and second races from 18th on the grid. Donington Park proved to be better since he would score his only podium finish with a third-place finish in Race 2. Esterson finished the season in 11th place, four places lower than his 2022 result.
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Esterson took part in post-season testing of the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Van Amersfoort Racing at the end of 2022. In 2023, he joined Rodin Carlin, replacing Hunter Yeany for the Silverstone and Budapest rounds. Esterson finished 18th in Budapest and returned to his GB3 following that race. Francesco Simonazzi, who finished the last 2 rounds of the 2023 F3 season, replaced him. His 35th-place overall classification put him last in the standings. Jenzer Motorsport allowed Esterson to partake in post-season testing and the Macau Grand Prix.
In 2024, Esterson joined the FIA Formula 3 Championship on a full-time basis, being a driver for Jenzer Motorsport for his debut season. He qualified for tenth place in the Sakhir Sprint Race and was able to stay in the top 10 throughout the entire race. He held off Gabriele Minì for sixth place, who now drives for the Formula 3 Prema Racing team. Esterson claimed one more point for taking seventh place in the Spa Feature Race but still impressed by qualifying second at a wet weather session at Silverstone. He finished 21st in the season, which is the highest position Jenzer has achieved.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
At the end of 2024, Trident Motorsports announced Esterson to make his FIA Formula 2 Championship debut for the season’s final two rounds, replacing Richard Verschoor. Esterson is to continue alongside Sami Meguatounif at Trident for the 2025 Formula 2 season. Max Esterson’s rise to Formula 2 marks a significant step in his career, and with his talent and determination, he could find himself on the path to Formula 1, potentially seizing an opportunity with Cadillac when they join as an 11th team in 2026 if he performs well.
