With an approximate population of just over 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 people and a distant location within the Caribbean, it's not surprising that Barbados is little known for its motorsports heritage. But Zane Maloney's exploits began to alter that.
The young Barbadian cut his teeth at his home track, Bushy Park Circuit, the primary racing facility on the island. The 21-year-old is ready to make his Formula E debut in two months' time after signing with the Abt team at an interesting point in his life.
Maloney has climbed the junior single-seater ranks into Formula 2 and is theoretically only one big step away from Formula 1. Along the way in which, his skills definitely didn’t go unnoticed by the upper echelons of motorsports.
Maloney was previously on Red Bull's books and in 2024 was a part of the Sauber Academy. During a barren season for the Swiss F1 outfit, just once did its distinctive black and green colours find themselves on the sharp end of the web, courtesy of Maloney, who stays in contention for the F2 title after ups and downs.
A double victory within the season opener in Bahrain and five further podium finishes kept him within the fight, but a 34.5 point deficit with just 78 points available within the remaining two rounds implies that realistically Maloney is unlikely to be in capable of return to leader Gabriel Bortoleto.
Maloney will still compete within the upcoming Qatar competition with Rodin in late November. But even when he were to place the title even further close by, he would miss the ultimate in Abu Dhabi resulting from a conflict with the Formula E season opener on December 7 in Brazil.
“I think it was a good year, we had problems with the pace for maybe one or two rounds and then things happen in the championship in general that are beyond our control,” Maloney tells Motorsport.com. “We can have had just a little more of that this 12 months than we expected, in order that put us behind.
Maloney did not repeat the sensational form he achieved after winning the double in the primary match in Bahrain
Photo: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“We were within the fight until the previous few rounds. I still think we're still fighting, but that's my focus now [Formula E] a chance that then takes me out of the fight. It was a 12 months of being out and in of the fight, but I at all times pushed as hard as I could and the team did an awesome job.
“I feel like I'm skating at a really high level. We won't have the championship to brag about it, but I feel everyone who must know what happened this 12 months knows and that's a very powerful thing.
Already in 2019, when he won the British F4 title with Carlin, Maloney's profession was on the rise. He has just missed out on the 2022 F3 title in his debut season with Victor Martins after a late surge that secured wins in each of the last three feature races. Despite this, Maloney defeated 2025 Haas F1 driver Oliver Bearman and Bortoleto's closest challenger Isac Hadjar, who appeared for Red Bull in the primary practice at Silverstone.
“I'm just grateful to have been given this spot on this amazing team and I look forward to the opportunity to do the best job I can.”
Zane Maloney
Winning the F2 title this season would probably not mean Maloney's place at the highest of the game, nevertheless, because the case of fellow Sauber Academy driver Theo Pourchaire shows. The Frenchman won the title last season after ending second last 12 months, but that didn’t improve his standing as a Formula One contender.
That could change if he is chosen over Bortoleto, Valtteri Bottas and Franco Colapinto to partner Nico Hulkenberg within the team next 12 months. But the 21-year-old now resembles a somewhat forgotten man. He was left in limbo while driving in IndyCar with Arrow McLaren and his profession lost momentum.
A move to Formula E also makes some sense for Maloney. He has served as Andretti's reserve and development driver for the past two seasons, collaborating in rookie test sessions and collecting plenty of information ahead of his season debut.
Maloney will now join fellow F2 race winner Taylor Barnard within the championship, with the 20-year-old Briton winning the Monaco sprint race with AIX Racing. Barnard made three appearances for McLaren last season rather than the injured Sam Bird, and after impressively scoring two points in Berlin, he was signed on full-time for the 2024-25 season.
Another F2 race winner, Taylor Barnard, showed that adapting to Formula E can bring results even with limited preparation
Photo: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Thanks to the commitment of manufacturers, high-quality drivers and ever-increasing automotive speeds, Formula E began to rework right into a desirable place for young drivers with talent, but perhaps without the chance and support that their peers needed to make it to F1.
However, the move to Formula E definitely doesn't mean that any hope of a future F1 seat is totally ruled out. This is evidenced by drivers including Alex Albon, who jumped from Nissan before the beginning of the season to Toro Rosso, and Nyck de Vries, who joined AlphaTauri after winning the title in 2020-21.
“It is clear that in motorsport in general today, in any professional level championship, there are many more drivers than places,” says Maloney. “So I'm just grateful that I got this spot on this amazing team and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do the best job I can.”
Novices generally have difficulty mastering Formula E's unique variety of racing, which consists of peloton-style racing, all while having to conserve little energy. While Maloney will likely be the least experienced driver on the grid and has yet to compete in a Formula E race, he will likely be competing alongside stalwart champion Lucas di Grassi, who with 131 starts has missed only one race within the category's 10-year history.
The Brazilian had his worst season within the championship last season, scoring just 4 points and was comprehensively outplayed by Nico Muller, who left for Andretti to turn out to be a Porsche works driver. But in di Grassi, Maloney may have a uniqueness of reference to match himself to and, perhaps more importantly, learn from. This knowledge could prove crucial as Abt begins its recent journey with powertrain supplier Lola and Yamaha.
This season also coincides with the beginning of the Gen3 Evo era, with the cars using softer Hankook tires in comparison with last 12 months, and all-wheel drive (AWD) will likely be utilized in certain situations comparable to qualifying duels, race start and attack modes . This implies that the new edition of the automotive is a couple of seconds faster than its predecessor, however the indisputable fact that it’s, in a way, a brand new start line for all teams and drivers might be an ideal opportunity for Maloney to make his mark.
The Abt/Lola/Yamaha partnership is unlikely to challenge for wins and maybe even podiums from the beginning, but Maloney will likely be aware of it and to some extent it is going to mean a less closely scrutinized debut campaign. But then again, being involved within the project from the very starting and helping to put the foundations could have huge advantages in his profession, not only in Formula E but beyond in motorsport.
Maloney may have rather a lot to learn on his recent journey into Formula E, but committing to the Yamaha-Lola powertrain from the beginning will help him develop
Photo: Abt/Lola
“[AWD] it changes the balance of the automotive and changes the way in which it drives,” explains Maloney. “I feel all of it depends upon how each team adapts to it and I feel this recent solution can be good for me because everyone seems to be learning it and not only me.
“It's one thing that everyone seems to be recent to and that's cool. I've driven it a bit over the previous few weeks and yes, it's completely different. It will take a while to know and excellent the way to be fast with 4WD and 350kW and I'm sure that's one among the primary topics for many teams further down the grid in the intervening time.
“For us, in fact, it’s something more, entering the market as a brand new manufacturer [with Lola and Yamaha]. But we're looking forward to starting the season as high as possible, though we don't know where that’s now.
Walking away from a title shot is rarely a straightforward decision, but Maloney now has a likelihood to prove he made the best decision
Photo: Andrew Ferraro
