Douglas Motorsport has confirmed that Walter Hayes Trophy winner and Formula Ford Festival runner-up Max Esterson will drive for the team in the 2022 GB3 partnered by the BRDC season. 

Esterson’s GB3 debut marks the latest chapter of a flourishing young career for the New York City-born driver, who only contested his first full season of karting in 2019 before stepping up to cars the following year.

A race-winner in his maiden season in the U.S. F1600 Championship Series, Esterson then travelled to the UK for the 2020 Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy. He has continued competing on these shores ever since, challenging for the championship title all the way through to the last round of this year’s Avon Tyres National Formula Ford Championship.

Furthermore, in October the-19 year-old successfully won the coveted Team USA Scholarship, earning him the opportunity to represent his country in the two big prestigious end-of-year events, the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone.

An eye-catching fortnight for Esterson saw him finish second in the milestone 50th running of the Festival, before dominating the Walter Hayes. Topping every session he contested at Silverstone, he sealed the event win with a lights-to-flag victory in the grand final.

Esterson is also a hugely successful sim-racer and has competed with the support of iRacing for the last two years. Starting his virtual career at 11 years of age, he quickly moved up the ranks to become one of the top five drivers in the US and has secured multiple high-profile event wins and championship titles.

Preparations have already begun for Esterson’s introduction to the GB3 Championship, and has shown great pace during some initial test outings with the team. They will now embark on a comprehensive driver development programme over the coming months ahead of the season starting in April.

Career Highlights

2021
Walter Hayes Festival – winner
Formula Ford Festival - runner-up
Avon Tyres National Formula Ford Championship - Pro - third overall with two wins, 13 podiums, one pole position and four fastest laps

2020
F1600 Championship Series - fifth overall with one win, four podiums, three pole positions and three fastest laps
BRSCC Formula Ford Festival - sixth overall
Champion of Brands - two races
BRSCC Avon Tyres National FF1600 Championship - three races
F2000 Championship Series - one win and one fastest lap

2019                                                                                                                  
Karting