Formula Scout Top 50 Drivers of 2025: 40-31

Each year, the Formula Scout team forms its own ranking of the best performing junior single-seater drivers of the past 12 months. Here is part two of the countdown with the drivers we placed from 40th to 31st

40. Akshay Bohra

New entry • FRegional rookie won in Europe and Middle East

Having pulled off something of an upset by beating Freddie Slater to win the E4 title in 2024, Bohra stepped up to Formula Regional with R-ace GP and made a strong impression for a rookie, winning races in both the Middle East and European championships.

His Middle East win in Abu Dhabi was one of only five races (out of 15) in which he scored points, so he ended up only 14th in the standings there, but his European campaign was far more consistent. There he failed to score just five times out of 20, and came sixth in the standings as the next-best first-year driver after champion Slater.

He joined the top five in winning a race, doing so at Imola from pole position after pipping Slater to pole by 0.027 seconds, and setting the fastest lap as he kept the eventual champion at bay. There were five other podium finishes, including second to an irrepressible Slater at a damp Hockenheim.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Indian-American seems short of options to continue building career momentum in Europe, with a switch to Super Formula Lights on the horizon after testing recently with TOM’S.

39. Noah Stromsted

Down 8 • FIA F3 rookie showed strong pace

Trident started the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship as the team to beat, and Stromsted utilised that to finish two of the first three feature races in second place and set the fastest lap in both races of round three at Imola.

As other teams caught up with the tricks Trident nailed straight away, Stromsted scored less frequently but still got the job done usually in feature races (with only four drivers outscoring him in those) and at Spa-Francorchamps he claimed his maiden victory in the sprint race.

The rookie, who graduated from FREC, came sixth in the standings, was in contention to make the top four and he was an impressive fifth best on single-lap and race pace through the season.

Stromsted qualified in the top three at three different circuits, with his worst weekend being Monaco where he crashed in practice, was down the order in qualifying, retired from the sprint race and was 18th the next day.

38. Ean Eyckmans

New entry • Strong progress as single-seater rookie yielded second in Spanish F4

Single-seater rookie Eyckmans had a stellar 2025, which included racing in FRegional.

Chosen last year as the winner of the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy scholarship, his main programme was in Spanish Formula 4 with MP Motorsport, which began with the Winter Championship. Two podiums and a pole put him sixth in the standings, and he was the second-best rookie.

The start of his main championship campaign didn’t go to plan, as a second place was Eyckmans’ sole points-scoring result in the first five races. But following that he was on the podium seven times in the next eight races, ending with his first victory in round five at Jerez. A win and two third places in the last two rounds made him the championship runner-up behind compatriot Thomas Strauven and ahead of Jan Przyrowski and Rene Lammers, and the top rookie by over 130 points.

During the summer, Eyckmans stepped up to FREC with Race Performance Motorsport, and he topped the rookie classification in three races as well as scoring twice to come 19th in the standings and second in the rookie classification’s points table.

37. Jules Roussel

New entry • Fought for French F4 title and won FIA F4 World Cup in Macau

Roussell was 11th in French F4 with one podium last year, and improved in his sophomore season to two victories, six runner-up finishes and only missing out on second in the standings on victory countback.

Spa was Roussel’s strongest weekend, as he claimed his maiden pole and took home both of his wins.

There was only one track where he didn’t make the podium, and while his failure to meet the chequered flag four times was twice the number of his title rivals, he only had one more points-free race than Arthur Dorison who edged him to the championship runner-up spot.

Roussel got to go up against French F4 champion Alexandre Munoz again in the FIA F4 World Cup, and thoroughly outperformed him. Fourth in practice was followed by sixth in qualifying, second in the qualification race and then victory in the all-important main race. He took the lead on the opening lap, and outwitted the drivers who then tried to challenge him.

36. Taito Kato

Up 11 • Made big gains across his sole year in FRegional

Honda protege and 2024 French F4 champion Kato joined ART Grand Prix to race in FREC and FRME this year and the World Cup in Macau.

His FRME campaign may have included a podium in the second round, but he was far behind both of his more experienced team-mates Evan Giltaire and Kenato Le and had an average finishing position lower than 10th place.

It was totally different in FREC, where his average race result improved to 8.7 and he came seventh in the standings, far ahead of Le and a lot closer to Giltaire.

At Spa and Paul Ricard he made the podium, and in the Monza season finale he finished both races in fourth. In qualifying the field is split in two, and Kato was second in his group twice and third fastest twice too.

In Macau he impressed too as one of the leading rookies. He topped free practice, was fourth in qualifying, then finished fifth in both races.

35. Joshua Duerksen

Down 17 • Podium spree showed AIX’s F2 potential

Duerksen maximised AIX Racing’s pace in Formula 2 at rounds where the team was competitive, making the podium at six circuits and bookending the season with victories. His year-ending win in the Abu Dhabi feature race from eighth on the grid was a repeat of what he did as a rookie with the team in 2024.

Six of Duerksen’s podiums came in the last eight races, and they rocketed him from 15th to ninth in the standings.

He was 13th fastest in the field on single-lap pace, but fifth on race pace and for podiums and laps led (including those behind the safety car) he was only bettered by two drivers. All of AIX’s points were scored by Duerksen.

But there were also lows for Duerksen. In Monaco he crashed out of both races, which was one of six rounds he failed to score in, and in Jeddah and at Spa he was towards the back of the grid.

34. Emanuele Olivieri

New entry • Won F4 Middle East title and starred in Macau

Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours-winning Rinaldo Capello is the godfather of Olivieri, and his guidance has so far turned him into an impressive talent at single-seaters’ entry level.

Although the Italian only scored 15 points across 33 races in three championships last year, he was with a midfield team in AKM Motorsport where being a podium threat was unlikely regardless of his abilities. Switching to R-ace GP for 2025 therefore added a bit of pressure to show what his true potential was, and he instantly delivered in F4 Middle East where he beat his team-mate Alex Powell (a third-year F4 racer) to the title. His season featured six wins, five poles and only two races off the podium.

Olivieri’s title-winning margin raised expectations for Italian F4, where Prema is the dominant team. Although Olivieri was R-ace’s lead driver again, and he started the season with two podiums, he only took home two more trophies during the season and came seventh in the standings with two poles to his name.

The FIA F4 World Cup in Macau marked another time to shine, with no team advantages at play, and Olivieri was third in practice and qualifying, won the qualification race with a stunning overtake and finished runner-up in the main race.

33. Alexandre Munoz

New entry • French F4 sophomore made a big step to win 2025 title

Munoz wasn’t one of the big names in his domestic karting scene or in international competition, and when he moved into single-seaters last year on home soil in French F4 he started on the back foot by missing the season opener and retiring from his debut race.

Following that he was rarely near the points, only scoring twice and having an average finishing position of 14.7 until the final two races. His season changed then, as he won the reversed-grid race at Paul Ricard and followed it up with fifth in the season finale. That was his best result by some margin in a race using a grid set from qualifying.

The turnover of drivers each year in the centrally-run championship, and that final round of 2024, meant Munoz was perceived to be a likely title contender for this season.

He delivered on that promise, winning all four of the main races across the first two rounds and having three of those victories come from pole. In the reversed-grid races of those rounds he came fourth twice, and while his form was never quite a dominant after that he was still on the podium at least once every round, took a fourth pole at Spa and in the final round became champion before the final race which he won.

Munoz then contested the FIA F4 World Cup in Macau, but crashed in qualifying and retired from both races.

32. Yuto Nomura

New entry • Dominated SF Lights as a rookie

Honda junior Nomura spent three years in F4, culminating in the 2024 Japanese title, but it only took one season for him to not only become a frontrunner in the third-tier Super Formula Lights championship but utterly dominate it and earn a Super Formula seat for 2026.

After finishing second in all three races of the season opener (losing a win to a five-second penalty), then failing to score at Autopolis, he won 12 of the remaining 13 races over the next four rounds and his title-winning margin was equivalent to almost five wins’ worth of points.

Round one at Suzuka was the only time Nomura didn’t claim a pole position, as he took both at Okayama, Sportsland Sugo and Twin Ring Motegi, and was on pole for one race at Autopolis and at Fuji Speedway.

The last time there was a rookie champion in Japanese F3/SF Lights was Sacha Fenestraz in 2019, but he had already done a season in FIA European F3. Nick Cassidy had 12 races of F3 experience before winning the 2015 title, so Ryo Hirakawa in 2012 was the last true rookie champion before Nomura.

31. Myles Rowe

Re-entry • Made history with improved second season in Indy Nxt

Rowe rejoins the list after being placed 17th in 2023, when he won the USF Pro 2000 title as a rookie.

He has spent two years in Indy Nxt since then, with Force Indy a permanent part of his entry which was co-run by HMD Motorsports in 2024 and then Abel Motorsports for 2025.

Having come 11th with a best finish of fourth as a rookie, Rowe improved to fourth in the standings as a sophomore and in the oval race at Iowa Speedway in summer he claimed a landmark first victory for black drivers in Indy Nxt.

Rowe ended the season with a second win at Nashville Superspeedway from ninth on the grid, was on the podium in both races on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, finished second at Gateway and was third at Portland.

He was the top scorer on ovals, and had the third-best race pace in the field. For 2026 he will stay with Abel.

Written by Peter Allen & Ida Wood