Despite a successful 2023 season which saw him claim victory in both the Formula Winter Series and the Italian F4 Championship, Kacper Sztuka suffered a difficult and disappointing debut season in Formula 2. The Polish driver, who signed with MP Motorsport for the 2024 F3 season, struggled throughout the season, failing to finish in the points on all but one occasion. He ultimately ended the season 27th in the championship, scoring only six points.
Lack of competitiveness against rival marred Sztuka’s debut F2 season
Sztuka had a poor start to his F3 season in Bahrain, qualifying 24th out of 30 drivers. He finished the sprint race in P20. In the feature race, he started from P23 after gaining a position when the stewards penalized Jenzer Motorsport’s Matías Zagazeta with a five-place grid drop for causing a collision with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Tommy Smith during the sprint. However, Sztuka struggled significantly and ultimately finished 28th, more than a minute behind race winner Luke Browning.
Though this was arguably one of Sztuka’s most disappointing weekends of the 2024 F3 season, the rest would not be too much better. Instead, less-than-impressive performances in qualifying and a comparative lack of competitiveness in the races would mar his weekends.
Sztuka earned first – and last – points in Imola
Sztuka’s best weekend was, without a doubt, the 2024 Imola F3 round, where he qualified P12. This granted him a start from pole in the sprint race. However, despite his best efforts, Sztuka could not keep hold of the lead. He surrendered his position to Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel León in the first corner, and struggled against the likes of Oliver Goethe, Tim Tramnitz and Dino Beganovic. Sztuka ultimately crossed the like fifth, earning his first six points both of the season and of his F3 career. Unfortunately, the feature race was not so kind to the Polish driver who lost a net three places during the race, finishing P15 despite starting P12.
The six points scored in Imola would ultimately be Sztuka’s only of the season. Though he would come close in Monaco, finishing P11 in the feature race, and later in the season finale at Monza, finishing P12 in the feature race, he would, for the most part, struggle to make it into the top 15.
Sztuka dropped from Red Bull Junior Team
Sztuka’s run of disappointing performances would not be without consequences. Just seven months after joining the Red Bull Junior Team, ahead of the Barcelona round, the team announced that they would be terminating the Pole’s contract.
Sztuka addressed this decision on social media, revealing that Red Bull’s Junior Team had terminated his contract “at the initiative of the partner.” He added that those who worked directly with him had consistently given positive assessments of his performance throughout his time with the team.
“I wanted to share with you information about my development and further performances in Formula 3 this season.”
“In recent weeks, the contract with Red Bull’s junior programme was terminated at the initiative of the partner.”
Sztuka’s future remains up in the air after a disappointing 2024 season
Red Bull’s decision to axe him from their junior programme is not likely the only consequence that Sztuka will face for his unimpressive performance. Instead, he risks being out of a seat altogether, with MP Motorsport opting to replace him and teammate Alex Dunne with Bruno del Pino and Alessandro Giusti.
As the start of the 2025 season draws nearer, Sztuka’s future remains uncertain, especially with all but two seats filled for the 2025 F3 championship. Despite his previous merits in the lower formula series, the Polish driver’s disappointing 2024 F3 season may cost him a chance to redeem himself in 2025.
