Kirill Yevgenyevich Smal (; born 20 May 2005) is a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

racing driver who last competed in the 2024 Eurocup-3 season for Palou Motorsport.

Career

Karting

Smal started karting in 2012. He participated in the Russian Karting Championship until 2015. In 2016, he came second in the 60 Mini category of the WSK Final Cup. In 2018, he finished fifth in the OK Junior category of the

Karting World Championship The FIA Karting World Championship, officially known as the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA. Hosted annually since 1964, it is widely regarded as the ...

with the support of

SMP Racing SMP Racing is a Russian racing team and driver academy mostly known for competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship with the goal of training and unveiling new talents from Russia. ...

and the following year he came fourth in the OK category.

Formula 4

In 2020, Smal made his single-seater debut by competing in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship with

R-ace GP R-ace GP is an auto racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsport, specifically those involving Renault. They are currently competing in the Formula Regional European Championship, Formula Regional Middle East, F4 Middle East, It ...

. He finished the season ninth in the standings after claiming three podiums and a pole position throughout the season. Together with Race GP, he also competed in a single round of the

Italian F4 Championship Italian Formula 4 Championship is the first formula racing series regulated according to Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, effectively replacing the F ...

before joining

Prema Powerteam Prema Racing, previously known as Prema Powerteam, is an Italian motorsport team, owned and operated through the ''DC Racing Solutions'' parent company. Founded in 1983, the team is based in Grisignano di Zocco and currently operates out of Ita ...

to compete in further rounds of the championship. He took his first podium in the final race of the season. In 2021, he joined Xcel Motorsport to compete in the

Formula 4 UAE Championship The Formula 4 UAE Championship was an FIA-certified Formula 4 racing series. It was launched by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, and its national affiliate the Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates, Automobile & Tour ...

. He finished the season at third after taking four wins. Afterwards, he rejoined

to contest the full 2021 Italian F4 Championship. He finished the championship in third after taking his only win of the season in the season-opening race at

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ...

. He also contested the opening two rounds of the ADAC Formula 4 Championship where he took a win at

Circuit Zandvoort Circuit Zandvoort (), known for sponsorship reasons as CM.com Circuit Zandvoort, previously known as Circuit Park Zandvoort until 2017, is a motorsport race track located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, the Netherlands, near the North Sea coas ...

. In 2022, Smal joined

MP Motorsport MP Motorsport is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, Eurocup-3, Spanish Formula 4 Championship and the newly established F1 Academy in 2023. The team has also participated in ...

to compete in the F4 Spanish Championship after initially stating that he wouldn't race outside of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

that year. Following the ban of Russian emblems, he competed under the flag of

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. He finished the season fourth in the standings. In 2023, he made an appearance for

in the opening round of the

as a replacement for Jerónimo Berrío.

Formula Regional

At the beginning of 2022, Smal was expected to join KIC Motorsport in the

Formula Regional European Championship The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) is a FIA-certified Formula Regional, regional European Formula Three, Formula 3 racing series. On 12 October 2018, it was announced that the Italian autosport regulator Automobile Club ...

. He ultimately did not compete in the championship after

withdrew its support in international motorsport due to the FIA's ban of Russian emblems following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. In 2023, he joined Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited for a part-time campaign in the

Formula Regional Middle East Championship The Formula Regional Middle East Championship is an FIA-certified Formula Regional racing series, started in 2023. This championship races in the Emirati venues from the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship and Kuwait Motor Town. The promo ...

. He scored his first podium in the final round of the season at the

Yas Marina Circuit The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is a 5.281 km (3.281 mi) motorsport circuit situated on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke. It has hosted the season-ending Formula One ...

. He then joined Monolite Racing in the

after missing the first round of the season.

Sports car racing

In 2023, Smal also made his debut in

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

. He joined CD Sport to compete in the Le Mans Cup with Fabian Michal being his teammate. The pair secured their first podium in the opening round of the season at

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands ...

Eurocup-3

In 2024, Smal made his debut in the Eurocup-3 series driving for Palou Motorsport, the team owned by three-time IndyCar champion Álex Palou. Smal finished on the podium in his debut race 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 ...

. In the second round at

Red Bull Ring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...

, he finished fourth in race one, but retired from race two with a late puncture. However, despite this strong start, he left the series following the second round.

Racing record