Zane Maloney finished the 2023 FIA Formula 2 championship in eighth place with 96 points, an impressive performance for a rookie, but a comparatively disappointing one for the Barbadian driver whose résumé boasts a multitude of top-five finishes in the lower single-seater series. However, Maloney would be granted another chance to fight for the F2 championship. In November 2023, Rodin Motorsport (then Rodin Carlin) announced that Maloney would continue with them for the 2024 F2 season, partnering with 2023 Super Formula champion Ritomo Miyata.
When speaking on his continued partnership with Rodin Motorsport, Maloney described the team as being “like a family” and expressed his aim to fight for the 2024 F2 title.
“I’m really pleased to be remaining with the team for the 2024 season.”
“I feel as though I’ve learned so much this year on track and I really believe we’re in a good place to hit the ground running next year.
“I’ve been with the team for three out of my five years in single-seaters so it’s like a family here; I’m looking forward to continuing that relationship and going for the championship together in 2024.”
A brilliant start to 2024
Maloney’s 2024 championship fight got off to a brilliant start in Bahrain when he qualified third. Though he started the sprint race from eighth under reverse-grid conditions, Maloney crept his way up the order, claiming second place by Lap 6. He would then engage in a fierce battle with race leader Jak Crawford and would eventually take the lead on Lap 8. Despite unrelenting pressure from Crawford, the Barbadian driver held on to the lead. He crossed the line first, almost 5.5 seconds behind the American driver. This was a resounding victory for the Boy from Barbados.
Maloney’s victory would also be a significant one. In addition to being his maiden F2 win, Maloney’s victory in the 2024 Sakhir F2 sprint race saw him become the first driver from Barbados, and from the Caribbean, to win an F2 race. This record came less than a year after Maloney, became the first Caribbean driver to stand on an F2 podium.
The people of Barbados would not have to wait long to hear their anthem again. Just a day later, Maloney claimed victory in the sprint race after claiming an early lead. This was an almost ideal start to the Barbadian’s 2024 F2 season and a positive sign of things to come.
Unfortunately, Maloney could not replicate the highs of Bahrain in Jeddah. He suffered a disappointing qualifying session, finishing 16th. However, after Prema Racing’s Oliver Bearman withdrew to replace Carlos Sainz at Scuderia Ferrari, Maloney started the sprint race from P15. Despite a chaotic race, Maloney managed to improve to fourth. He finished the race just over 6.7 seconds behind Dennis Hauger who inherited the win after stewards disqualified Trident’s Richard Verschoor due to a technical infringement. Maloney went on to finish the feature race P7.
A return to the podium in Melbourne
After a challenging 2024 Jeddah F2 round, Maloney returned to the podium in Melbourne. However, despite qualifying fifth, his weekend was not a smooth one. He suffered a scrappy sprint race and crossed the line 11th. He was, however, promoted to 10th after stewards handed Oliver Bearman, who had finished eighth, a ten-second time penalty for forcing PHM AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen off the track.
Maloney, would, however, enjoy a better feature race. After starting fifth, he crossed the line third, behind Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Paul Aron.
The Rodin Motorsport driver would have another weekend of mixed fortunes in Imola a few weeks later. After qualifying sixth for the 2024 Imola F2 round, Maloney started the sprint race from P5. Despite a strong, defensive performance, however, he could not work his way into the lead of the race. Instead, he claimed a third-place finish after passing Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Amaury Cordeel with only three laps left.
He would, however, not enjoy similar success in the feature race. He finished 11th, just barely missing out on points. This, unfortunately, would signal the beginning of a dip in form, not unlike that which he had experienced in the early part of the 2023 season. Despite his best efforts, he earned only three points across the 2024 Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Spielberg F2 rounds. This cost him his lead in the drivers’ championship standings.
Double podiums in Silverstone
After this relatively disappointing spate of results, Maloney appeared to have turned his luck around in Silverstone. After a somewhat difficult and less-than-impressive qualifying session, Maloney set the ninth fastest time of the session, earning himself a start from P2 in Saturday’s sprint.
Despite the mixed conditions, Maloney put in an impressive drive, battling Prema Racing’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto throughout the race. Unfortunately, despite a strong effort, Maloney was unable to keep up with the Italian driver. He finished P2, more than 8.6 seconds behind Antonelli who claimed his maiden F2 win.
He would again put up a strong fight in Sunday’s feature race. That saw him make his way up into the top three despite a start from P9. Unfortunately, Maloney would not be able to get past Hadjar. He crossed the line third, but was promoted to second after Crawford, who had led the pack across the finish line, received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release during the pit stop sequence.
A final podium in Monza
Despite a successful 2024 Silverstone F2 round, Maloney suffered a disappointing Budapest round. Despite qualifying eighth, he stalled on the formation lap, relegating him to a start from the pit lane. Unfortunately, though he would give an inspired performance, he came away from the race empty-handed after finishing P13. The feature race would be similarly disappointing. He suffered a Lap 7 collision with Aron and was forced to retire from the race.
Though he would enjoy better results in Spa-Francorchamps, finishing P4 and P6 in the sprint and feature races respectively, Maloney would not return to the podium until after the summer break.
The Boy from Barbados enjoyed a strong start to the 2024 Monza F2 round, setting the fastest time in the Friday qualifying session. However, he started the sprint race from P9 under reverse-grid conditions after Antonelli received two separate five-place grid penalties for technical nonconformities involving the use of dry ice in Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. Maloney would have a strong race but could not make his way onto the podium. Instead, he settled for fifth place after passing his 2023 teammate Enzo Fittipaldi on the last lap.
He would, however, claim a podium finish in the feature race. Despite a strong start from pole position which saw him claim an early lead, an unlucky safety car timing saw Gabriel Bortoleto jump him in the pit stops. Unfortunately, Maloney could not keep up with Bortoleto’s pace and had to settle for second place.
An early end to the season
Maloney’s podium in the Monza feature race would be his last of the season, and, as it turned out, the last of his F2 career. After a disappointing 2024 Baku F2 round where he failed to score points, and P6 and P9 finishes in Qatar, the Barbadian driver announced that he would be leaving F2 ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi. He finished the season fourth in the drivers’ championship with an impressive 140 points.
As Maloney would miss the 2024 Yas Marina F2 round, he was replaced by F3 champion Leonardo Fornaroli. Though Fornaroli would fail to score points, the rookie driver would have an impressive weekend. After qualifying P13, he worked his way up to a P10 finish in the sprint race. Unfortunately, the feature race would prove to be more disappointing. Despite starting P11, he finished the race P13.
The Italian driver will, however, have a chance to properly prove himself in F2. He will compete in the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Invicta Racing.
Maloney makes Formula E debut
While Maloney did not race in Abu Dhabi, he did take to the track that weekend, though on an entirely different continent.
On 7 December, 2024, the Barbadian racing driver made his Formula E debut at the 2024 São Paulo ePrix with Lola Yamaha ABT. Despite tricky conditions, he finished the race P12, a promising start to his career in Formula E.
