Kaylen Frederick

Kaylen Frederick (born 4 June 2002) is a German- American race car driver who is currently competing in Super Formula Lights with B-Max Racing Team. He was the last champion of the British Formula 3 Championship in 2020. He previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship from 2021 to 2023.

Career

Karting career

Frederick began his racing career in karting at the age of seven, where he remained active until 2015.

Lower formulae

2016

In 2016 Frederick switched to formula racing at the age of fourteen, where he competed in the F1600 Championship Series with Team Pelfrey. Due to his age he had to miss the first six races, but was nevertheless successful by taking his first single-seater win at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex and three second place finishes. With 474 points, he finished seventh in the championship. Later in the year the American made his U.S. F2000 debut for Pelfrey on the final race weekend at Laguna Seca, becoming the youngest driver to race in the series where he finished thirteenth in both races and ended 24th in the standings. He also drove for Pelfrey in the season finale of the F2000 Championship at Virginia International Raceway. He immediately took pole position, but finished seventh in the first race, while failing to finish the second race.

2017

The following year Frederick competed full-time in U.S. F2000 with Team Pelfrey. He took his first podiums at Barber Motorsports Park, scoring a pair of second places, after being bested by Oliver Askew. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was positive with a third place finish in the second race, although he would have achieved more without a disqualification from second place in the first race. He scored only two more third places that season at the Toronto Street Circuit and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With 240 points he finished fourth in the standings behind Oliver Askew, Rinus VeeKay and Parker Thompson, the highest driver not to win a race. He also drove an F2000 Championship Series weekend at Mid-Ohio, where he earned pole position and a podium finish.

2018

In 2018, Frederick took another shot at U.S. F2000 with Pabst Racing Services. He achieved all his four podium finishes consecutively, at Lucas Oil Raceway, Road America and Toronto, taking three second places and one third place. However, his season was much more inconsistent compared to the previous year, and he finished sixth in the final standings with 173 points. Frederick also drove in the first race weekend of the Formula 4 United States Championship in Virginia with the K-Hill Motorsports team, but managed only a retirement, 23rd and 12th in the races. At the end of the season, the American drove for the first time in Europe for two Euroformula Open race weekends with RP Motorsport. He achieved two top ten finishes in four races, with a fifth place at the Monza as his best result. With 21 points, Frederick finished fourteenth in the final standings.

BRDC British Formula 3 Championship

2019

In 2019 Frederick switched full-time to racing in Europe and was expected to race in the Euroformula Open, but instead competed in British Formula 3 with Carlin. He achieved his first win on his first weekend at Oulton Park during the second race. Two more third places at Snetterton and Silverstone followed, before he added a second victory at Spa-Francorchamps. He failed to make the podium for the last three rounds and ended ninth in the standings.

2020

Frederick remained with Carlin in BRDC F3 for 2020, partnering Guilherme Peixoto and Nazim Azman. He started his season in Oulton Park with two wins. At the first Donington Park round, Frederick once again won and also secured a second place. A blip of form followed in Brands Hatch, but the second Donington round saw the American victorious, which also applied to the next round in Snetterton Circuit. Having been nine points behind championship rival Kush Maini, Frederick's pace skyrocketed for the final two rounds, taking four victories, two each in Donington and Silverstone which allowed him to surpass Maini's points tally. Frederick secured the title during the final race, beating Maini by 51 points. Throughout the season, Frederick achieved nine wins and three more podiums.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

2021

In 2021 Frederick progressed to the FIA Formula 3 Championship. Remaining with Carlin, he was partnered by Ido Cohen and Red Bull Junior Jonny Edgar. Frederick had a solid debut in the championship, achieving a best finish of 17th twice during the first two rounds. During the Austrian round, Frederick claimed his first F3 points after multiple penalties promoted him to ninth place in race 1. Starting fourth for race 2, Frederick impressively maintained his position in the top 5. On lap 11, he made a late dive on Juan Manuel Correa which spun both around, and Frederick retired on the spot. It was later discovered that Frederick suffered a fracture dislocation in his left thumb, causing him to miss race 3. He also missed the Budapest round due to the injury and was substituted by Jake Hughes. In addition, he did not compete in Spa-Francorchamps after testing positive for Covid-19. He returned in Zandvoort, and achieved 11th place in just his second race on his return. Frederick scored two points, besting out Cohen, who scored 0 points, but got outlasted by Edgar, who scored 23 points. He then tested for Hitech Grand Prix during the post-season test.

2022

Frederick switched to Hitech Grand Prix for 2022, partnering Isack Hadjar and former BRDC F3 teammate Nazim Azman. The American stated that he was "‘more prepared’ for F3 after his toughest year in racing". Frederick qualified in 19th during the opening Bahrain round, and during the first race, charged forward to eighth place, a performance he hailed as "really positive". In the feature race, Frederick span on the opening lap which dropped him to the back, but despite the setback, he managed to climb back into the points in tenth place. Frederick improved his best F3 finish in Imola, ending in seventh place during the feature race. In Barcelona, Frederick qualified in eighth, his best qualifying in F3 yet. He scored good points in the races, finishing seventh and ninth after battling tyre degradation. Having improved his qualifying-best position to seventh, he also improved his highest finish to fifth in the Silverstone sprint race. The feature race was less satisfying; he went over the kerbs which damaged his diffuser, and struggled on his way to finish out of the points.

In Austria, Frederick improved his qualifying position for a third straight time, securing fifth. Frederick ended in seventh position in the sprint race, which improved to sixth after Oliver Bearman was penalised ahead of him. However, that result would prove to be his last points of the season. During the feature race, Frederick fought over Roman Staněk over fifth place, in which it ended in tears for the American as he sustained a puncture following contact. Frederick's form dipped during the next three rounds, failing to even fight near the points-paying positions thanks to poor qualifying sessions. In Monza, Frederick returned to competing in the top 10, but both races were marred with collisions that led to punctures. Frederick ended 17th in the standings with 27 points, being outscored massively by Hadjar but beating Azman. In late September, he partook in the post-season test with ART Grand Prix, driving on days 1 and 2 for the French outfit.

2023

Frederick moved to ART Grand Prix for his third Formula 3 season in 2023, partnering single-seater champions Grégoire Saucy and Nikola Tsolov. Frederick started his season in Bahrain with sixth in qualifying, but was set back by contact in which he sustained a puncture during the sprint race. In the feature race, he battled tyre degradation but was able to take his first points of the year with seventh. Frederick again scored a point in the Melbourne sprint race, after all three MP Motorsport cars were disqualified. The feature race was not so fortunate for him, as he crashed into teammate Tsolov under the safety car; Frederick received a ten-place grid penalty for the following race. He returned to the points for the last time at the Red Bull Ring where he finished seventh in the sprint race, but his feature race was halted due to a broken front wing sustained after fighting Mari Boya. Overall, his season was filled with lost opportunities, with incidents limiting his progress such as in Silverstone and Hungary. Frederick ended the season in a disappointing 21st place overall with 11 points, with ART Grand Prix having a tough season as well.

Indy NXT

In October 2023, Frederick tested an Indy NXT car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with HMD Motorsports.

Super Formula Lights

In November 2023, Frederick partook in the Super Formula Lights post-season test with B-Max Racing at Okayama International Circuit.

2024

Frederick would sign a deal to compete in the 2024 Super Formula Lights with B-Max Racing. The first round in Autopolis yielded a second-placed podium during the third race. He earned his first pole for the second race in Sugo but struggled for pace and eventually finished fifth. After a scoreless weekend at Fuji Speedway, Frederick drove to his first win in Okayama during the second race, whilst finishing runner-up for the other two races. After a double points finish during the last round in Motegi, Frederick placed fifth in the standings with 46 points, earning one win and four podiums.

2025

Frederick stayed with B-Max for 2025 season. He took his first win of the season during the second race at Autopolis, having started from pole, although he did not receive pole position points as qualifying was cancelled due to dense fog.

Personal life

Frederick originates from Potomac in Maryland, and his hero is four-time Formula One World champion Sebastian Vettel.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record

Racing career summary

* Season still in progress.

American open-wheel racing results

U.S. F2000 Championship

Complete Formula 4 United States 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 points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete BRDC British Formula 3 Championship 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 points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete Super Formula Lights results

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

^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick, Kaylen
2002 births
Living people
U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers
Euroformula Open Championship drivers
FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers
Sportspeople from Potomac, Maryland
Racing drivers from Maryland
RP Motorsport drivers
Carlin racing drivers
BRDC British Formula 3 Championship drivers
Team Pelfrey drivers
Hitech Grand Prix drivers
ART Grand Prix drivers
United States F4 Championship drivers
American people of German descent
Super Formula Lights drivers
B-Max Racing drivers
21st-century American sportsmen