Cian Shields (born 7 March 2005) is a British and Irish

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

from Scotland who competes in the

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...

for

AIX Racing AIX Racing is an Emirati-German auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and the FIA Formula 3 Championship. It previously competed under a German license in 2024. It started racing in 2024 after acquiring PHM Racin ...

. He competed in the

FIA Formula 3 Championship The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international Open wheel car, single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for ...

with

Hitech HiTech, also referred to as Hitech, is a computer chess, chess machine built at Carnegie Mellon University under the direction of World Correspondence Chess Champion Hans J. Berliner. Members of the team working on HiTech included Berliner, Murra ...

, and was runner-up in the

2023 Euroformula Open Championship The 2023 Euroformula Open Championship was a multi-event motor racing championship for single-seater open wheel formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in Euroformula Open Championship specification Da ...

Career

Karting

Cian Shields was born on 7 March 2005 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland. He started karting at the age of 11 in 2016. In 2017 he competed in IAME Cadets with

British GT The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports G ...

driver Dean MacDonald being his driver coach. In 2019 he became champion of the X30 Junior category in the IAME Series Benelux.

Lower formulae and prototype racing

In 2022, Shields began his single-seater career by joining

Hitech Grand Prix Hitech Grand Prix (formerly Hitech Racing, currently racing as Hitech TGR for sponsorship reasons) is a British motor racing team. It was founded by Dennis Rushen and David Hayle in 2002 and relaunched by Oliver Oakes in 2015. Currently, Hite ...

in the

GB3 Championship The GB3 Championship is a single seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The championship is the UK's premier single-seater category, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from FIA Formula 4 championships, the GB4 Cha ...

. He would take his first victory in the reversed-grid race at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

, holding off Nick Gilkes in the closing laps. Until the end of the season, which he ultimately finished in thirteenth, he would take two further podium finishes. Shields moved to the

Euroformula Open Championship The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...

in 2023, driving for Team Motopark. Throughout the season Shields took four wins at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

and Mugello, becoming the series runner-up. During the year he also entered the opening round of the newly-formed

Eurocup-3 Eurocup-3 is a formula racing series regulated according to Formula Regional regulations. The series is founded for levelling up the competition for all drivers, with each team committing on a maximum budget of €400,000 every season. History ...

series, but did not start any of the races, and drove for 360 Racing in the Prototype Challenge at

in a

Radical SR3 The Radical SR3 is a race and sports car produced by Radical Sportscars, which has been built in Peterborough since 2002. The vehicle is considered a further development of the Clubsport 1100. History Designed by race car designer Mike Pilbeam, t ...

; he won the first race in the

Radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

class.

FIA Formula 3

In late 2023 Shields rejoined

Hitech Pulse-Eight Hitech Grand Prix (formerly Hitech Racing, currently racing as Hitech TGR for sponsorship reasons) is a British motor racing team. It was founded by Dennis Rushen and David Hayle in 2002 and relaunched by Oliver Oakes in 2015. Currently, Hite ...

for post-season testing for the

. Later that December, Shields was announced to be driving for Hitech during the 2024 FIA F3 season. The year proved to be a challenge, as Shields finished last of all full-time competitors and scored no points. His best result came during the

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

sprint race, where he finished 14th. At the end of the campaign, Hitech's team manager Tom Bellringer praised Shields for his progress throughout the season.

FIA Formula 2

2024

Shields took part in the final two rounds of the 2024 Formula 2 season with

, replacing

Niels Koolen Niels Koolen (; born 25 May 2001) is a Dutch racing driver. He currently competes in the 2025 Indy NXT series, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. Koolen most recently competed in the European Le Mans Series driving for the Duqueine Team. He is t ...

. He benefited from a pit stop under safety car conditions in the

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

feature race to finish eleventh, though he also qualified last for both that round and the one at

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. Thereafter he took part in the Abu Dhabi post-season test.

2025

Shields continued with

for his first full

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 to 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name returned aga ...

campaign in 2025, partnering up with

Joshua Dürksen Joshua Dürksen (; born 27 October 2003) is a Paraguayan racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for AIX Racing. Dürksen previously raced for Arden International, Arden in the Formula Regional European Championship in 202 ...

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record

Racing career summary

^† As Shields was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Season still in progress.

Complete GB3 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Eurocup-3 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress.

References

External links

* Living people Scottish racing drivers Racing drivers from Glasgow BRDC British Formula 3 Championship drivers Hitech Grand Prix drivers Euroformula Open Championship drivers Motopark Academy drivers {{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Cian 2005 births FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers AIX Racing drivers Eurocup-3 drivers 21st-century British sportsmen