16 Young Drivers to Watch Out For on the Road to Formula 1
Every year from 2022 to 2025, I did an “Up-and-Coming” drivers article, where I spotlighted drivers I hadn’t previously spoken about as people who could break out into the mainstream down the line! In fairness, it kind of worked; Andrea Kimi Antonelli was my cover star in 2023 back when he was in Formula Regional (he now leads the F1 World Drivers’ Championship), whilst Arvid Lindblad also made the jump to Formula 1 after appearing on the front of my 2024 edition! Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to do this article in the summer due to the World Cup, and honestly, I’ve kind of ran out of a new batch of 15 young talents! So instead, we’re going to talk about 16 drivers that I’ve (perhaps) spoken about in the past, as names that you should all know in case they appear in Formula 1 at some point in the future!
Leonardo Fornaroli
Leonardo Fornaroli is a 21-year-old Italian racing driver who current serves as a Reserve Driver for McLaren in Formula 1! After only winning once in his entire junior formula career up until 2023, Leonardo managed to win the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship (despite still not winning a Race), before he went back-to-back by becoming the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Champion! So far in 2026, Fornaroli has driven for McLaren in FP1 at both the Barcelona-Catalunya and Hungarian Grand Prix’s, as well as a number of other tests at circuits such as Silverstone, COTA, and Portimão in the 2023 McLaren! Leo Fornaroli even drove around Jerez in last year’s Haas, in what was sort of an audition for a potential spot at the American team in 2027! With Leonardo Fornaroli potentially set for another two FP1 outings across the rest of the season, can he make enough of an impression?
Final Thoughts: It’s honestly ridiculous to me that a back-to-back F2 and F3 Champion isn’t even in proper contention for a drive next year; Fornaroli is more than deserving!
Paul Aron
Paul Aron is a 22-year-old Estonian racing driver who currently serves as Reserve Driver for Alpine in Formula 1! Paul previously finished third in the 2019 Italian F4 Championship, the 2021 and 2022 Formula Regional European Championships, the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship, and the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship! So far in 2026, Aron has driven in FP1 four times; twice for Alpine in Hungary and Italy, whilst he also got loaned out to Audi for more running in Barcelona and Austria! Paul Aron also has experience driving in Formula E, and he’s clearly proven to be a very capable racing driver! In fact, if it wasn’t for an upturn in form for Franco Colapinto, a full-time drive for Alpine in 2027 definitely had legs to it!
Final Thoughts: Being at the team led by Flavio Briatore might be the best chance Aron has at making it to Formula 1 full-time, but he’s going to need things to go wrong for Colapinto in order for a seat to open up!
Luke Browning
Luke Browning is a 24-year-old British racing driver who currently drives for Kondo Racing in Super Formula, whilst also serving as a Reserve Driver for Williams in Formula 1! After finishing third in the 2018 Ginetta Junior Championship, Luke would go on to win the 2020 F4 British Championship, before finishing third in the 2021 ADAC Formula 4 Championship (a Title won by Oliver Bearman)! Browning would then become GB3 Champion a year later, before finishing third in Formula 3 (in 2024), and 4th in Formula 2 (in 2025)! So far in 2026, Browning has actually struggled a bit in Super Formula; he sits 12th in the standings, whilst he’s driven for Williams in FP1 at Austria and Monza (after a car issue prevented him from running in Barcelona)! I’m honestly surprised that Luke Browning has struggled in Super Formula, but Williams clearly remain very high on the young Brit!
Final Thoughts: The oldest driver on this list also happens to be one of the best! Browning is a definite contender for a 2028 Williams seat!
Jak Crawford
Jak Crawford is a 21-year-old American racing driver who currently serves as Reserve Driver for Aston Martin in Formula 1! Jak managed to finish second in both the 2018-19 NACAM and 2020 ADAC Formula 4 Championships, as well as third in the 2021 Euroformula Open Championship, before he went on to win 6 Races in Formula 2, ultimately finishing as 2025’s Runner-Up! So far in 2026, Crawford has been promoted to Reserve Driver role at Aston Martin, where he’s competed in FP1’s at the Japanese, Austrian, and Belgian Grand Prix’s! It’s also worth noting that Jak has in the past had a connection with Andretti through Formula E, although that seems to have stopped!
Final Thoughts: I find it interesting that Crawford no longer serves as Reserve Driver for Andretti in Formula E, as that connection may have been able to help him get on the F1 Grid with Cadillac at some point!
Rafael Camara
Rafael Camara is a 21-year-old Brazilian racing driver who currently drives for Invicta Racing in FIA Formula 2, whilst also being a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy! Rafael’s junior pedigree is pretty stacked; he finished 2nd, 3rd, and 3rd in the 2022 Formula 4 UAE, Italian F4, and ADAC Formula 4 Championships respectively (the last two were won by Andrea Kimi Antonelli), third in both the 2023 and 2024 Formula Regional Middle Eastern Championships (2023 was also won by Antonelli), before he finally struck gold by winning the 2024 Formula Regional European and the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championships! So far in 2026, Camara actually leads the 2026 FIA Formula 2 Championship following a win in Baku, with just two rounds left in the form of Qatar and Abu Dhabi (at least as of writing)! It’s worth noting that since starting this article, Rafa Camara had been officially confirmed as a Formula 1 Driver with Haas next season, so he certainly won’t be making this list this time next year!
Final Thoughts: Whether he wins Formula 2 this year or not, Camara should impress in Formula 1!
Nikola Tsolov
Nikola Tsolov is a 19-year-old Bulgarian racing driver who currently drives for Campos Racing in FIA Formula 2, whilst also being a member of the Red Bull Junior Team! Nikola dominated the 2022 F4 Spanish Championship in his single-seaters debut, but it took him a couple of years to truly find his footing in Formula 3, ultimately finishing 2nd in 2025! So far in 2026, Tsolov sits second in Formula 2, having just lost the lead following a difficult weekend in Madrid (and a DNF in the first Baku Feature Race)! However, Tsolov has still achieved 6 wins in 2026, whilst after a couple of show-runs in old Red Bull’s, “The Bulgarian Lion” was finally able to do some TPC testing at Imola in last year’s Racing Bulls!
Final Thoughts: I’m almost certain that Tsolov is going to find his way onto the Formula 1 Grid within the next 15 months, but could it really be at the expense of Liam Lawson?!
Alex Dunne
Alex Dunne is a 20-year-old Irish racing driver who currently drives for Rodin Motorsport in FIA Formula 2, whilst also being a part of the Alpine Academy! Alex became British F4 Champion in 2022, before finishing as Runner-Up in both the 2022 Italian F4 and 2023 GB3 Championships! Despite a difficult year in Formula 3, Dunne is a multiple time winner in Formula 2! So far in 2026, Dunne finds himself third in Formula 2, with a triple Podium weekend in Baku meaning he sits just 18 points off the Championship lead! After being dropped by McLaren last year, Alex Dunne has found himself a spot in the Alpine Academy, and that seems like a good place to be!
Final Thoughts: Whilst he won’t be on the grid next year, if Dunne finds a way to win Formula 2 this year, that would be pretty remarkable!
Gabriele Mini
Gabriele Mini is a 21-year-old Italian racing driver who currently drives for MP Motorsport in FIA Formula 2, whilst also being a part of the Alpine Academy! Gabriele became Italian F4 Champion in 2020, before he finished as Runner-Up in both the 2022 Formula Regional European and FIA Formula 3 Championships! So far in 2026, Mini is 4th in the Formula 2 Championship, having achieved 2 wins (including the Feature Race in Miami), although his most recent form has taken him away from the Championship fight! Gabriele Mini has also driven in Formula E this year, whilst he is yet to compete in an FP1 session for Alpine!
Final Thoughts: As hyped as Mini has been in the past, I feel like there’s multiple other Alpine youngsters ahead of the Italian in the pecking order!
Ugo Ugochukwu
Ugo Ugochukwu is a 19-year-old American racing driver who most recently drove for Campos Racing in FIA Formula 3! Ugo finished third in both the 2022 F4 British and 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championships, second in the 2023 Italian F4 Championship, whilst he would strike gold in that same year by winning the Euro 4 Championship! Ugochukwu would then go on to win the 2024 Macau Grand Prix, as well as finishing third in the 2025 Formula Regional Middle Eastern Championship! In 2026, Ugochukwu managed to not only start the year by winning the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy (a series previously won by current F1 drivers Lance Stroll, Lando Norris, Liam Lawson, and Arvid Lindblad), but he also came from behind to win FIA Formula 3 in the Season Finale in Madrid! It is worth mentioning that Ugo did drive a 2024 Alpine in a private test session at Monza back in June, but despite that, he is currently without backing from a major Formula 1 team!
Final Thoughts: Surely Ugochukwu is Cadillac-bound in the future?
Freddie Slater
Freddie Slater is an 18-year-old British racing driver who most recently drove for Trident in FIA Formula 3, whilst also being a part of the Audi Driver Development Programme! After becoming a junior-Karting World Champion in 2020, Freddie followed up winning the 2022 Ginetta Junior Winter Series by winning the 2023 Ginetta Junior Championship, before he won both the 2024 Formula 4 UAE and Italian F4 Championships (in a record-breaking campaign)! Slater would also finish second in both the 2024 Euro 4 and the 2025 Formula Regional Middle Eastern Championships, before he became the 2025 Formula Regional European Champion! In 2026, Slater has come up short twice, finishing second in both the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy and FIA Formula 3 (by a combined total of 30 points)! It has since been confirmed that Freddie will drive for Invicta Racing in Formula 2 next year, so he needs to take advantage of being the only current-male junior driver in the Audi ranks!
Final Thoughts: Slater’s stock continues to grow; deliver in F2 and he’ll definitely be an Audi driver in the future!
Tuukka Taponen
Tuukka Taponen is a 19-year-old Finnish racing driver who most recently drove for MP Motorsport in FIA Formula 3, whilst also being a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy! After becoming the 2021 Karting World Champion at the age of 14, Tuukka would finish second in the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship as well as third in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship, whilst he would be crowned Champion that same year in the Formula Regional Middle Eastern Championship! In 2026, despite some early struggles, 3 Podiums in the final 3 Feature Races of the season allowed Taponen to rise to third in the 2026 Formula 3 Standings! Tuukka has also been a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2023, whilst it’s already been confirmed that he will reunite with ART Grand Prix in Formula 2 next year!
Final Thoughts: Whilst I’m intrigued to see how he gets on in Formula 2, I’d say Taponen’s Formula 1 window is getting narrower every passing season!
Taito Kato
Taito Kato is an 18-year-old Japanese racing driver who most recently drove for ART Grand Prix in FIA Formula 3, whilst also being a part of the Honda Formula Dream Project! Taito would start his career in Europe perfectly by winning the 2024 French F4 Championship, before he went on to finish 7th in the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship! In 2026, Kato was able to win a Race in the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy, before he finished 4th in FIA Formula 3! Whilst nothing has been confirmed yet, I would assume that Honda will do their very best to get Taito a seat in Formula 2 next year, unless he wants to go for the Formula 3 Title?!
Final Thoughts: Kato still has a long way to go in terms of development, but fair play to him for finishing 4th in Formula 3, just a few years after driving karts in Japan!
Theophile Nael
Theophile Nael is a 19-year-old French racing driver who most recently drove for Campos Racing in FIA Formula 3! After making his single-seaters debut in 2022, Theophile won the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship, whilst he also managed to win the 2025 Macau Grand Prix! In 2026, Nael finished 5th in his second year in FIA Formula 3, winning 3 Races (including 2 in Spain)! It’ll be interesting to see if Theophile ever gets backing from an F1 team (particularly Alpine), as he may need it to compete at a high level in Formula 2!
Final Thoughts: Winning Macau is always a statement, but Nael looks second-best to some of these younger talents!
Alisha Palmowski
Alisha Palmowski is a 20-year-old British racing driver who currently drives for Campos Racing in F1 Academy, whilst also being a part of the Red Bull Academy Programme! Alisha finished as runner-up in the 2022 Ginetta Junior Winter Championship (behind a driver we’ve already spoken about), as well as second in the 2024 GB4 Championship, before moving on to take victory in her debut F1 Academy campaign! So far in 2026, Palmowski is the runaway leader of F1 Academy; 48 points to be exact, after winning 4, yes 4 Feature Races (out of a possible 5)! In fact, Alisha could well seal the Title this weekend at COTA!
Final Thoughts: We need to see a female compete in at least Formula 3, a place that I think Palmowski could shine!
Emanuele Olivieri
Emanuele Olivieri is an 18-year-old Italian racing driver who most recently drove for R-ace GP in the Formula Regional European Championship! After struggling initially, Emanuele starting to come good when he became F4 Middle Eastern Champion in 2024, whilst he also finished second in last year’s F4 Race in Macau! In 2026, after making a few appearances in the later rounds of the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy at the start of the year, Olivieri put out another statement by taking 7 Podiums in the last 10 Races of the season to become the 2026 Formula Regional European Champion (as a Rookie)! As of yet, Emanuele is without backing from a Formula 1 team, and he’s also not currently got a seat in Formula 3 next year (whilst guys he beat to the FRECA Title have)!
Final Thoughts: When the last three winners of FRECA are Antonelli, Camara, and Slater, you sort of have to keep your eyes on Olivieri’s progress through the ranks!
Kean Nakamura-Berta
Kean Nakamura-Berta is a Japanese and Slovak racing driver (born in London, England) who most recently drove for Prema Racing in the Formula Regional European Championship, whilst also being a part of the Williams Driver Academy! Kean tasted success in Karting, becoming a Junior World Champion in 2021, followed by a European Championship in 2022! In 2024, Nakamura-Berta finished second in Formula 4 UAE and third in Euro 4, before finishing third again in the 2025 F4 Middle Eastern Championship! However, Nakamura would then return to winning Championships in that same year in both Italian F4 and the E4 Championship! In 2026, Nakamura started the year perfectly; winning the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy, before he finished third in FRECA, just 17 points off the eventual Champion! After being backed by Alpine in the past, Kean has been a member of the Williams Driver Academy since the start of 2026, and that seems to have paid off as he’s already gotten a guaranteed seat in Formula 3 with Trident for 2027!
Final Thoughts: Nakamura-Berta looks strong; he could win F3 next year!
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