Maxwell Esterson (born October 9, 2002) is an American racing driver and esports driver who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for RLL Team McLaren. He previously competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Trident and in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Jenzer Motorsport.
Single-seater career Sim racing Esterson started his sim racing career on iRacing at the age of eleven. He then went on to become one of the top sim-racers in the world, including finishing in seventh place in the 2019 VRS Pro GT Championship. This string of results quickly showed as he was ranked within the top-35 road course drivers in the world and top-four in the US on the iRacing program. In 2020, he became champion of the Formula Race Promotions iRacing Challenge. He followed this by winning the 2021 Road to Indy TireRack.com eSeries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Esterson tutored multiple drivers on iRacing, including Scott Dixon and Richard Westbrook.
Karting Esterson started karting when he was almost 16. In 2019, he contested his first partial season in karting at Oakland Valley Race Park, competing with McAleer Racing.
Formula Ford 2020 Esterson made his single-seater racing debut in 2020, competing in the F1600 Championship Series with Team Pelfrey. He took one victory and finished the season in fifth. He also contested a single race in the F2000 Championship Series at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, which he won, setting at the time the track-record. At the end of the year, Esterson made his debut at two of the world's biggest races, the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy. Running with Low-Dempsey Racing, Esterson qualified second in his heat at the Formula Ford Festival, and finished sixth in the Grand Final.
2021 In 2021, Esterson competed in the BRSCC Avon Tyres National Formula Ford Championship for Low Dempsey Racing, where he scored two wins and finished third in the Championship. He then went on to finish second in the 50th Anniversary BRSCC Formula Ford Festival and won the 2021 Walter Hayes Trophy as part of the Team USA Scholarship.
2022 Esterson returned to the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy with Ammonite Motorsport in 2022. At the Formula Ford Festival, he took pole by 0.8sec, won his heat, won his semifinal and was on pole for the final. Esterson led every lap of the Final and was then awarded victory as the race was shortened due to torrential weather conditions. In the Walter Hayes Trophy, Esterson again qualified on pole, won his heat race, won his semifinal and led every lap of the Grand Final for the second year in a row, finishing first but he was then dropped to fifth after a controversial ruling handed him a 4.5-second penalty for a collision with another driver.
GB3 Championship 2022 In 2022, Esterson progressed to the GB3 Championship, partnering Tommy Smith and Marcos Flack at Douglas Motorsport. He started out by taking his first top ten finish in Race 3 at the season opener in Oulton Park, before scoring a pair of fourth places at Silverstone. The third round of the season at Donington Park would prove to be his most successful one, as Esterson achieved his maiden podium in the first race, before winning Race 2 from pole position, thus securing his first win in slicks-and-wings machinery. He finished the season in seventh.
2023 In 2023, Esterson joined Fortec Motorsports in the GB3 Championship. The season started with a series of misfortune, with a multitude of mechanical failures and difficult conditions leading to disappointing finishes in regard to his pace. His qualifying was hampered by a red flag at Spa, followed by a technical failure in race two after a strong drive to fourth. He would again make a strong drive in the reverse grid race, setting the fastest lap of the race and making up twelve places in six laps, only to be taken out at Les Combes. An electrical failure at Snetterton during qualifying meant that he started at the back of the grid for all three races. His woes were exacerbated in the second Silverstone round, where he had two engine failures during free practice, and an underpowered engine for qualifying, despite this, he was able to recover well across the weekend, recovering to tenth and ninth in the first and second races respectively, from 18th on the grid. At the last race in Donington Park, Esterson would score his only podium with a third place in race two. Esterson finished the season in 11th, four places lower than the previous year.
FIA Formula 3 At the end of 2022, Esterson took part in the post-season test of the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Van Amersfoort Racing.
2023 In 2023, Esterson joined Rodin Carlin in the FIA Formula 3 Championship ahead of the round at Silverstone, replacing Hunter Yeany for both that round and Budapest. Esterson finished a highest finish of 18th place in Budapest. He returned to his GB3 duties following that, and was replaced in his seat by Euroformula Open racer Francesco Simonazzi for the final two rounds. He was classified 35th, albeit last in the standings. For the post-season tests, Esterson was fielded in by Jenzer Motorsport. Esterson also partook in the Macau Grand Prix with Jenzer.
2024
In 2024, Esterson joined FIA Formula 3 on a full-time basis, teaming up with Jenzer Motorsport. During the Sakhir Formula 3 Sprint Race, he qualified an impressive tenth, and was able to stay in the top-ten throughout the whole race, holding off Gabriele Minì for sixth place. Esterson would only claim one more points finish in 2024, taking seventh in the Spa-Francorchamps feature race, but impressed at Silverstone by qualifying second during a wet-weather session. He finished 21st in the standings, highest of all Jenzer drivers.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
2024 At the end of 2024, Esterson was announced to make his Formula 2 debut with Trident for the final two rounds of the season, replacing Richard Verschoor who himself replaced the outgoing Dennis Hauger at MP Motorsport.
2025 Esterson continued with Trident for the 2025 Formula 2 season, alongside Sami Meguetounif. Having failed to score points throughout the campaign, Trident and Esterson, along with Meguetounif decided to part ways prior to the Baku round; being replaced by Formula 3 graduates Martinius Stenshorne and Laurens van Hoepen.
Sportscar career Following his Formula 2 exit, it was announced that Esterson would make his sportscar racing debut in the uppermost category of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, driving a Porsche 963 for JDC–Miller MotorSports at Petit Le Mans. Esterson stated that he considered this race a "test" owing to his lack of experience. Esterson was later confirmed to make his debut in the GTD Pro class with RLL Team McLaren at the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona.
Personal life Esterson grew up in New York City going to the Allen-Stevenson School and attended Regis High School, graduating in 2021. His older brother, Hugh, is also a racing driver.
Racing record Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2020 F1600 Championship Series Team Pelfrey 15 1 3 3 4 423 5th F2000 Championship Series Ubs Financial Services 1 1 0 1 1 52 16th National FF1600 Championship Low Dempsey Racing 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC Formula Ford Festival 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6th Walter Hayes Trophy 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 14th 2021 National Formula Ford Championship Low Dempsey Racing 20 2 1 4 13 414 3rd Formula Ford Festival 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd Walter Hayes Trophy 1 1 1 0 1 N/A 1st 2022 GB3 Championship Douglas Motorsport 24 1 1 2 3 292.5 7th Formula Ford Festival Ammonite Motorsport 1 1 1 0 1 N/A 1st Walter Hayes Trophy 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th 2023 GB3 Championship Fortec Motorsports 23 0 0 1 1 215 11th FIA Formula 3 Championship Rodin Carlin 4 0 0 0 0 0 35th Macau Grand Prix Jenzer Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 20th 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship Jenzer Motorsport 20 0 0 0 0 11 21st FIA Formula 2 Championship Trident 4 0 0 0 0 0 31st 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship Trident 21 0 0 0 0 0 23rdIMSA SportsCar Championship - GTPJDC–Miller MotorSports 1 0 0 0 0 209 41st 2026IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD ProRLL Team McLaren 10 0 0 1 0 2392 9thNürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - BMW M2 RacingSRS Team Sorg Rennsport Season still in progress.
Complete GB3 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points 2022Douglas Motorsport OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 SIL11 SIL12 SIL13 DON11 DON12 DON13 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 SIL21 SIL22 SIL23 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 DON21 DON22 DON23 7th 292.5 2023Fortec Motorsports OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 SIL11 SIL12 SIL13 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 SIL21 SIL22 SIL23 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 ZAN1 ZAN2 ZAN3 DON1 DON2 DON3 11th 215
Complete Macau Grand Prix results Year Team Car Qualifying Quali Race Main race 2023 Jenzer Motorsport Dallara F3 2019 21st 16th 20th
Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2023 Rodin Carlin BHRSPR BHRFEA MELSPR MELFEA MONSPR MONFEA CATSPR CATFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA SILSPR SILFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA SPASPR SPAFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA 35th 0 2024 Jenzer Motorsport BHRSPR BHRFEA MELSPR MELFEA IMOSPR IMOFEA MONSPR MONFEA CATSPR CATFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA SILSPR SILFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA SPASPR SPAFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA 21st 11
Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DC Points Trident BHRSPR BHRFEA JEDSPR JEDFEA MELSPR MELFEA IMOSPR IMOFEA MONSPR MONFEA CATSPR CATFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA SILSPR SILFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA SPASPR SPAFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA BAKSPR BAKFEA LSLSPR LSLFEA YMCSPR YMCFEA 31st 0 Trident MELSPR MELFEA BHRSPR BHRFEA JEDSPR JEDFEA IMOSPR IMOFEA MONSPR MONFEA CATSPR CATFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA SILSPR SILFEA SPASPR SPAFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA BAKSPR BAKFEA LSLSPR LSLFEA YMCSPR YMCFEA 23rd 0
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points 2025 JDC–Miller MotorSports GTP Porsche 963 Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8 DAY SEB LBH LGA DET WGL ELK IMS PET 41st 209 2026 RLL Team McLaren GTD Pro McLaren 720S GT3 Evo McLaren M840T 4.0 L Turbo V8 DAY SEB LGA DET WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET 9th 2392
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