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Maximilian Popov
Russian and Grenadian racing driver (born 2008)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maximilian "Max" Popov[b] (Russian: Максимилиан Попов; born 21 August 2008) is a Russian and Grenadian racing driver who is set to compete under the Italian flag in the Formula Regional European Championship for Trident.
Career
Karting (2013–2023)
Popov began karting at the age of five, competing until 2023.[2] In his karting career, he most notably finished runner-up in the 2022 WSK Champions Cup in the OK class with Ward Racing.[3] With the same team, Popov also was third in the 2019 WSK Final Cup and 2021 Champions of the Future in the 60 Mini and OK-J classes, respectively.[4][5]
Formula 4 (2024–2025)
2024
Stepping up to single-seaters for 2024, Popov joined PHM AIX Racing to compete in the Formula 4 UAE Championship.[6] In the five-round winter series, Popov scored a best result of 11th in the second race of the second Yas Marina round and ended the season 27th in points.[7] For the rest of the year, Popov stayed with the team to compete in both the Italian F4 and Euro 4 Championships.[8][9] In the former, Popov scored a best result of eighth in race one at Barcelona, and ended the year 21st in the standings after taking three more points finishes.[10] In Euro 4, he scored two ninth-place finishes at Mugello and Red Bull Ring to end the season 21st in points.[11][12] During 2024, Popov also raced with the same team in the Red Bull Ring round of the Formula 4 CEZ Championship, in which he won race two.[13]
2025
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In 2025, Popov switched to Van Amersfoort Racing for his sophomore season in Formula 4 competition.[14] Starting off the year in Formula Winter Series,[15] Popov finished third in the second race in the season-opening round at Algarve,[16] before repeating the same feat at round later in race three at Valencia.[17] In the following two rounds, Popov finished no higher than fourth as he ended the season sixth in points.[18] In the Italian series, Popov started off the season with two second-place finishes at Misano and a third-place finish at Vallelunga,[19][20][21] before not scoring points at Monza and only scoring a best result of fifth at Mugello to enter the second half of the season seventh in points.[7] In the final three rounds, Popov finished third in race two at Barcelona and repeated the same feat in race one at Misano to end the year sixth in points.[22][23] Popov also raced in the three-round E4 Championship for the same team, scoring a lone podium at Mugello en route to an eighth-place points finish.[24]
Formula Regional (2026)
2025
At the end of 2025, Popov joined the Eurocup-3 grid to race in Barcelona with GRS Team.[25] On his series debut, Popov finished tenth in race one, but wasn't eligible to score points as he was a guest driver.[26]
2026
At the start of 2026, Popov joined Trident to compete in the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy.[27] In the four-round season, Popov scored a pair of third-place finishes in the first two Yas Marina rounds to take seventh in the overall standings.[28] Popov remained with Trident for the rest of the year to race in the Formula Regional European Championship.[29]
Karting record
Karting career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | WSK Super Master Series – 60 Mini | Babyrace Driver Academy | 95th |
| Trofeo Delle Industrie – 60 Mini | 28th | ||
| ROK Cup International Final – Mini Rok | 16th | ||
| WSK Final Cup – 60 Mini | 46th | ||
| 2018 | WSK Champions Cup – 60 Mini | Parolin Motorsport | 16th |
| South Garda Winter Cup – Mini Rok | 12th | ||
| WSK Final Cup – 60 Mini | 17th | ||
| WSK Super Master Series – 60 Mini | Parolin Motorsport Praga Junior Team[c] |
33rd | |
| 2019 | WSK Champions Cup – 60 Mini | Baby Race Driver Academy | 17th |
| WSK Super Master Series – 60 Mini | 4th | ||
| South Garda Winter Cup – Mini Rok | 5th | ||
| WSK Euro Series – 60 Mini | 20th | ||
| ROK Cup International Final – Mini Rok | 17th | ||
| WSK Open Cup – 60 Mini | 29th | ||
| WSK Final Cup – 60 Mini | 3rd | ||
| 2020 | WSK Champions Cup – OK-J | Ward Racing | 10th |
| WSK Super Master Series – OK-J | 46th | ||
| 2021 | WSK Champions Cup – OK-J | Ward Racing | 4th |
| WSK Super Master Series – OK-J | 8th | ||
| Champions of the Future – OK-J | 3rd | ||
| Karting European Championship – OK-J | 20th | ||
| WSK Euro Series – OK-J | 25th | ||
| Karting World Championship – OK-J | 7th | ||
| South Garda Winter Cup – OK-J | 5th | ||
| WSK Final Cup – OK-J | 4th | ||
| 2022 | WSK Champions Cup – OK | Ward Racing | 2nd |
| WSK Super Master Series – OK | 15th | ||
| Champions of the Future Euro Series – OK | 54th | ||
| Karting European Championship – OK | Ward Racing Koski Motorsport[d] |
37th | |
| WSK Euro Series – OK | Koski Motorsport | 25th | |
| Karting World Championship – OK | 29th | ||
| WSK Open Cup – OK | 21st | ||
| WSK Final Cup – OK | 16th | ||
| 2023 | South Garda Winter Cup – OK | Koski Motorsport | 7th |
| WSK Champions Cup – OK | 6th | ||
| WSK Super Master Series – OK | Koski Motorsport KR Motorsport[e] |
27th | |
| Karting European Championship – OK | Koski Motorsport KR Motorsport[f] |
27th | |
| Karting World Championship – OK | Kart Republic Motorsport | NC | |
| Sources:[30][31] | |||
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Formula 4 UAE Championship | PHM AIX Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27th |
| Italian F4 Championship | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 21st | ||
| Formula 4 CEZ Championship | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 11th | ||
| Euro 4 Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 21st | ||
| 2025 | Formula Winter Series | Van Amersfoort Racing | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 88 | 6th |
| Italian F4 Championship | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 143 | 6th | ||
| E4 Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 8th | ||
| Eurocup-3 | GRS Team | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| 2026 | Formula Regional Middle East Trophy | Trident | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 70 | 7th |
| Formula Regional European Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TBD | ||
| Sources:[32][30] | |||||||||
* Season still in progress.
Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Italian F4 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 | 25 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | PHM AIX Racing | MIS 1 21 |
MIS 2 13 |
MIS 3 13 |
IMO 1 15 |
IMO 2 15 |
IMO 3 26 |
VLL 1 28† |
VLL 2 13 |
VLL 3 15 |
MUG 1 18 |
MUG 2 14 |
MUG 3 16 |
LEC 1 18 |
LEC 2 Ret |
LEC 3 9 |
CAT 1 8 |
CAT 2 10 |
CAT 3 21 |
MNZ 1 Ret |
MNZ 2 9 |
MNZ 3 27 |
21st | 9 | ||||
| 2025 | Van Amersfoort Racing | MIS1 1 |
MIS1 2 2 |
MIS1 3 4 |
MIS1 4 2 |
VLL 1 |
VLL 2 6 |
VLL 3 3 |
VLL 4 22 |
MNZ 1 17 |
MNZ 2 29 |
MNZ 3 15 |
MUG 1 12 |
MUG 2 26 |
MUG 3 5 |
IMO 1 11 |
IMO 2 C |
IMO 3 6 |
CAT 1 11 |
CAT 2 3 |
CAT 3 C |
MIS2 1 3 |
MIS2 2 5 |
MIS2 3 |
MIS2 4 5 |
MIS2 5 8 |
6th | 143 |
Complete Formula 4 CEZ Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Euro 4/E4 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula Winter Series 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)
† As Popov was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Complete Formula Regional Middle East Trophy results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Notes
- Sometimes spelled Maksimilian Popov.
- Popov competed for Parolin Motorsport in rounds 1–3 and for Praga Junior Team in round 4.
- Popov competed for Ward Racing in rounds 1–3 and for Koski Motorsport in round 4.
- Popov competed for Koski Motorsport in round 1 and for KR Motorsport in round 4.
- Popov competed for Koski Motorsport in round 1 and for KR Motorsport in rounds 3–4.