Five things to know about Zane Maloney, new ABT Lola Yamaha Formula E rider

An important point in common with Rihanna

What do Zane Maloney and Rihanna have in common? Are you stuck? Not easy at first glance... Come on, we'll give you the answer... well, like the 34-year-old pop star, he's Barbadian. The young 20-year-old pilot - 21 on October 2 - was in fact born in Barbados, on this Caribbean island of 200 inhabitants that he loves so much and where he grew up. When we asked him in 000 to tell us about his island, he mentioned "The sun, the heat, the sea and our beaches! We have, I think, the third most beautiful beach in the world: Crane Beach. We live mainly from tourism. In fact, we are known as a place where you come for a fortnight and do nothing but enjoy the beach and the sun (laughs)."

An honorable junior career

Zane Maloney is a well-known figure in the paddock of Formula 2, a championship he has been competing in since 2023 with Rodin. A protégé of the Sauber academy since the start of 2024, after losing the support of Red Bull, the Caribbean native started the season with a bang with a Sprint Race – Main Race double at the opening round in Bahrain. Before the last two meetings of the season, he is in 3rd place in the championship and is still in contention for the Formula 2 title.

However, the Barbadian truly revealed himself in 2022 by finishing runner-up in Formula 3, behind the crowned Victor Martins. Although a rookie, and while he only had 19 points at mid-season, the young man took advantage of his racing intelligence, his speed and probably the fastest car on the grid to come back at the end of the year and win the last three main races.

The previous year, he had finished 4th in FRECA with R-ace GP, the French team that was crowned teams' champion. Also proof that Maloney is capable of making the right choices every year. A year earlier, he had lost his way in Euroformula Open (8th) after being British F4 champion with Carlin.

Zane Maloney has won the last three main races in F3 in 2022. © Paul Vaicle / DPPI

Invited to a Grand Prix by… Lewis Hamilton

This story begins in Barbados, in 2014. Lewis Hamilton is passing through the island for the filming of the show Top Gear and to make a performance with his Mercedes at the Race of Champions. There, Zane, the little local kart driver who is on the rise, has the opportunity to talk with the British star, who will promise to take him to a Grand Prix one day. Five years later, in 2019, the Hamilton clan invited him to the United States Grand Prix, the 6th title weekend for Lewis. "Obviously, we're not the best of friends, although I would love to (smile), but it was great to be able to talk to him so much” he confided to us about this.

He has already driven against… Jenson Button!

Rest assured, the two men have obviously never ridden in an official racing competition. car together, it's not as if there was a 23-year gap between the two boys... Again, it was in Barbados that Zane had the opportunity to see the British star. This time, as part of the Festival of Speed ​​in 2017. Maloney drove in an F4, and Button in a prototype, during an exhibition which aimed to entertain the public. And when asked who won? “Let’s just say that at that point I wasn’t that good yet.”, he replied, smiling from ear to ear.

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Congratulated by the Prime Minister of his country after his victory in Monaco in 2021

Among his career feats, there is obviously his victory in the streets of Monaco last year in FRECA, in a weekend dominated head and shoulders by an exceptional Isack Hadjar. Monaco, even when it is not yet in F1, still has a special resonance, even 6800 km away! The next day, Zane received a video from the Prime Minister of Barbados (Mia Mottley) paying tribute to him. “She compared me to Sir Garfield Sobers (a distinguished cricketer) and to Rihanna. It was pretty cool!” 

In 2021, Zane Maloney won in the streets of Monaco in FRECA. © Florent Gooden / DPPI