Photo: Kalle Rovanpera
Junior single-seaters is a place in motorsport where drivers race on the way to becoming professionals, but this year there are several established names making the intruiging step of joining the feeder series fold
There are several events in motorsport that hold appeal across the globe, and across all categories and disciplines, such as the Le Mans 24 Hours or Indianapolis 500. The opportunity to enter those, particularly for drivers who are not usually in sportscars or IndyCar, is not passed up.
Since junior single-seaters is a place for learning, featuring teams of less experienced and established talents on and off track, there is usually little appeal for professional drivers to spend their time in it. While the smaller cars of Formula Regional and Formula 4 get to race around the streets of Macau, meaning drivers from higher up the ladder have to step down a rung or two to take on its challenge, drivers from top-tier racing don’t do the same even if the Macau Grand Prix is on their bucket list.
When proven stars of motorsport do make junior single-seater comebacks, it’s usually long after their professional careers ended. For example, former CART and Formula 1 driver Jan Magnussen raced in the 2021 Formula Ford Festival and 2024 Walter Hayes Trophy to effectively celebrate how much fun he had en route to winning the FFord Festival back in 1992.
This year it’s not retired talents but active pros at the peak of their careers headed to junior single-seaters, and for full programmes rather than cameos. So what should be made of their decision to race ‘below’ their level?
Ryan Wood
Still only 22, Wood started off in sportscars then has become a tin-top star in Australia. He came third in the second-tier Super2 Series in 2023 as a Walkinshaw Andretti United driver, and the team promoted him to its Australian Supercars line-up for 2024. Two fourth places were the best results of his rookie campaign, while in 2025 he got through the title fight’s first cutoff stage to come 10th in the points table. He won one race, finished third six times, and started on pole thrice.
Top-tier talents at Toyota Racing Series/FRegional Oceania’s New Zealand GP
| Year | Q | R | Name | CV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2nd | 1st | Will Brown | 2024 Australian Supercars champion |
| 1st | 6th | Broc Feeney | 2nd in 2024 Australian Supercars | |
| 2023 | 9th | 4th | Chris van der Drift | 2021 TCR New Zealand champion |
| 2021 | pitlane | 1st | Shane van Gisbergen | 3rd in 2020 Australian Supercars |
| 8th | 2nd | Andre Heimgartner | 14th in 2020 Australian Supercars | |
| 2nd | 7th | Daniel Gaunt | 9th in 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series | |
| 5th | 9th | Greg Murphy | 35th in 2014 Australian Supercars | |
| 3rd | 12th | Chris van der Drift | 2019 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia champion | |
| 2011 | 13th | DNF | Earl Bamber | 7th in 2010 Superleague Formula |
| 2010 | 2nd | 1st | Earl Bamber | 7th in 2008-09 A1 Grand Prix |
This weekend he makes his single-seater debut in Formula Regional Oceania, and as a Kiwi he has been frank that his home country’s biggest championship for open-wheel cars has been something he’s followed since childhood and always had aspirations to compete in. His Supercars team will swap its Fords for Toyotas this year, and the brand’s part in organising FRegional Oceania opened the door for Wood to turn a dream into reality.
Since he is racing for his own merits, rather than to further his career, gain crucial experience or prove himself against new opposition, Wood may be happy to take risks and have fun in his four weekends with MTEC Motorsport and that should make him an exciting addition to the grid.
Kalle Rovanpera
Another total newcomer to single-seaters, Rovanpera also has Toyota connections to thank for his FRegional Oceania programme with Hitech GP. The team is now entering the second year of its collaboration with Toyota (and using its name), while the 25-year-old Finn has driven a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 to 18 wins and two titles in the World Rally Championship.
He is headed to New Zealand to build up as much mileage and understanding of wheel-to-wheel action as possible before he heads to Japan’s top-tier Super Formula championship in three months’ time.
Having one of motorsport’s biggest names outside of F1 racing in FRegional is an amazing headline, but results may be secondary to registering in-car improvements each race. That Rovanpera has won so much at such a young age is due to a winning mindset and relying on his natural driving style, but the WRC’s new tyre compound last year unsettled the latter, so if he doesn’t start on the right foot down under it might be a very introspective campaign rather than ‘one to watch’.
As long as Rovanpera shares his journey with media and fans, it will still be a fascinating rallying to racing move to follow.
Photo: Red Bull
Colton Herta
The first reaction to Herta’s presence in Formula 2 this year: is it fair? That’s not in relation to the rest of the field having to go up against one of the best drivers IndyCar has had this decade, but rather the fact that this move has been required for him to earn a FIA superlicense and be eligible to race for Cadillac in F1 next year.
IndyCar is grossly undermarked in the superlicense points system, and Herta has to make the top eight in the F2 standings with Hitech to get the document he so obviously already deserves. He won two races and claimed three poles as an IndyCar rookie in 2019, came third in the 2020 standings and the 25-year-old left that paddock with nine race victories and the 2024 championship runner-up spot to his name.
While it’s outrageous the F2 move is required, it is the only way for a driver to gather experience of many F1 tracks in high-downforce machinery without racing in F1 itself so it can be considered perfect preparation for his 2027 plans.
As for once Herta is seen on track, it should be thrilling. He’s a great driver to work with, he has a racing style that is great to watch, and it will be really interesting to see how applicable his tyre management experience from IndyCar is to F2.
Nico Varrone
Like Herta, Varrone does have junior single-seater experience in Europe already but most of what he faces in F2 will be brand new or at least feel it. He did contest F2 post-season testing in 2024, so has some car experience to count on but he’s spent the last few years racing sportscars.
The Argentinian was 2023 World Endurance champion and Le Mans 24H winner in the LMGTE Am class, as well as LMP3 class winner in IMSA’s Daytona 24H race, was part of the crew that came fourth in the 2024 Le Mans 24H’s LMP2 class, then he stepped up to the top Hypercar class for prototype cars last year.
Photo: Paola Depalmas
Some of the team-mates he has been partnered with in endurance racing have been immensely experienced and great to learn from, and the long stints mean Varrone has his own extensive knowledge now of brake and tyre management. Those two factors become increasingly key in F2 as the sole single-seater category featuring compulsory pitstops at every event, so races may be where Varrone shines rather than qualifying.
As a journalist, some more insight from Varrone about the motivations and ambitions behind his F2 move is currently needed. Regardless, it will be fun to delve through the data and quotes of the season to come and see the impact he has on his team Van Amersfoort Racing’s competitivity.
Further reading
The top-tier champions who stepped down to junior single-seaters