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Brad Benavides

Brad Benavides
Benavides driving the Dallara F2 2018 during the 2023 Spielberg Formula 2 round.
Nationality American
 Guatemalan
 Spanish
via triple nationality[1]
Full nameBrad Domenico Benavides Agredo
Born (2001-07-20) 20 July 2001 (age 23)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States[2]
FIA Formula 2 Championship career
Debut season2023
Car number17
Former teamsPHM Racing by Charouz
Starts18 (18 entries)
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish22nd in 2023
Previous series
2023
2023
2022
2021
2019
2018, 2021
FIA Formula 2 Championship
FR Middle East Championship
FIA Formula 3 Championship
FR European Championship
Formula Renault Eurocup
Euroformula Open Championship
Championship titles
2024Euroformula Open Championship

Brad Domenico Benavides Agredo (born 20 July 2001) is an American-Spanish-Guatemalan racing driver who currently competes in the 2024 Euroformula Open with Team Motopark. He previously competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with PHM Racing by Charouz and the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Carlin.

Career

Benavides racing in the Euroformula Open in 2021

Karting

Benavides started his karting career in 2017, when he finished ninth in the WSK Final Cup in the KZ2-class. He then finished fourth in the WSK Champions Cup in 2018 and won the IAME Winter Cup the following year in the X30 Shifter class. Two years later he came 11th in the KZ category of the Spanish Karting Championship with two wins, having missed the final two rounds due to his racing commitments.[3]

Lower formulae

The American driver made his single-seater debut in the final round of the 2018 Euroformula Open Championship for Campos Racing. He finished 9th in the first race, however he didn't score any points as he was classed as a guest driver.[4]

In 2019 Benavides raced for FA Racing in the Formula Renault Eurocup. He scored no points, and with a best race finish of 6th in Spa but later being deemed out of the points due to a post race penalty. He finished 23rd in the standings having participated in 6 out of the 10 rounds.[5]

After a one-year hiatus Benavides made his return to racing in the Formula Regional European Championship with DR Formula RP Motorsport.[6] In the first round of the season at Imola the American retired from the first race, but finished 14th in race two.[7] He then raced in four more rounds until he left the championship midway through the ten rounds.[8]

FIA Formula 3 Championship

Benavides driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 3 round.

Having tested for Carlin during the 2021 post-season test, Benavides joined the team for the 2022 FIA Formula 3 season.[9] The American generally struggled to score points, though mixed weather during qualifying at Spa allowed him to start near the front during the sprint race, from where he would go on to finish eighth.[10] He ended the season 23rd in the standings with 3 points, ahead of teammate Enzo Trulli but far from other teammate and Williams Driver Academy member Zak O'Sullivan.[11] During September, Benavides contested the final day of post-season testing with ART Grand Prix.[12]

FIA Formula 2 Championship

In November 2022, the American would compete in the Formula 2 post-season test for Charouz Racing System, partnering F2 veteran Roy Nissany at the Yas Marina Circuit.[13] Shortly after, Benavides was confirmed to drive for the outfit in 2023 alongside Nissany under the new name PHM Racing by Charouz.[14][15] Having prepared for the season by competing in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship at the start of the year, taking two points finishes and notably being involved in a crash at Kuwait Motor Town where his car flipped over several cars, Benavides narrowly outqualified teammate Nissany during his Formula 2 debut.[16][17] The year would become a struggle, as Benavides failed to score points throughout the campaign. In addition, the American would become involved in multiple incidents, namely a collision with Amaury Cordeel in Jeddah, crashes at Melbourne and Baku, and a retirement on the opening lap of the Silverstone sprint race after being spun around by Clément Novalak.[18][19][20][21] Before the round at Spa, it was announced that Benavides would be replaced by Euroformula Open racer Josh Mason.[22] Benavides did not return that year, finishing 22nd in points.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season Series Team Position
2016 South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ 52nd
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipOKJ NC†
2017 South Garda Winter Cup — KZ2 65th
Trofeo delle Industrie — KZ2 CPB Sport 27th
WSK Super Master SeriesKZ2 75th
Coupe de France — KZ2 40th
International Super Cup — KZ2 78th
WSK Final CupKZ2 CPB Sport 9th
2018 WSK Champions CupKZ2 CPB Sport 4th
WSK Super Master SeriesKZ2 26th
WSK Open Cup — KZ2 17th
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipKZ2 CPB Sport 39th
International Super Cup — KZ2 104th
2019 IAME Winter Cup — X30 Shifter Campos Racing 1st
2020 Champions of the Future — KZ2 9th
2021 WSK Champions CupKZ2 29th
WSK Super Master SeriesKZ2 50th
Spanish Karting ChampionshipKZ DMK Racing Team 11th

As Benavides was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2018 Euroformula Open Championship Campos Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2019 Formula Renault Eurocup FA Racing by Drivex 13 0 0 0 0 0 23rd
2021 Formula Regional European Championship DR Formula RP Motorsport 10 0 0 0 0 0 26th
Euroformula Open Championship Carlin Motorsport 9 0 0 0 0 39 13th
2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship Carlin 18 0 0 0 0 3 23rd
2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship Hyderabad Blackbirds by MP 13 0 0 0 0 1 29th
FIA Formula 2 Championship PHM Racing by Charouz 18 0 0 0 0 0 22nd
2024 Euroformula Open Championship Team Motopark 24 9 4 10 19 431 1st

As Benavides was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

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)

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 DC Points
2018 Campos Racing EST
1
EST
2
LEC
1
LEC
2
SPA
1
SPA
2
HUN
1
HUN
2
SIL
1
SIL
2
MNZ
1
MNZ
2
JER
1
JER
2
CAT
1

9
CAT
2

13
NC† 0
2021 Carlin Motorsport POR
1
POR
2
POR
3
LEC
1
LEC
2
LEC
3
SPA
1
SPA
2
SPA
3
HUN
1
HUN
2
HUN
3
IMO
1
IMO
2
IMO
3
RBR
1

10
RBR
2

9
RBR
3

8
MNZ
1

7
MNZ
2

7
MNZ
3

7
CAT
1

8*
CAT
2

6
CAT
3

14
13th 39
2024 Team Motopark PRT
1

2*
PRT
2

1*
PRT
3

2
HOC
1

1
HOC
2

2
HOC
3

5
SPA
1

1
SPA
2

1*
SPA
3

3*
HUN
1

1
HUN
2

3*
HUN
3

2*
LEC
1

3
LEC
2

1*
LEC
3

2*
RBR
1

RBR
2

RBR
3

CAT
1

CAT
2

CAT
3

MNZ
1

MNZ
2

MNZ
3

1st* 321*

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup 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 Pos Points
2019 FA Racing MNZ
1

14
MNZ
2

Ret
SIL
1

19
SIL
2

18
MON
1

17
MON
2

14
LEC
1

14
LEC
2

18
SPA
1

19
SPA
2

13
NÜR
1

WD
NÜR
2

WD
HUN
1

DNS
HUN
2

16
CAT
1

14
CAT
2

14
HOC
1
HOC
2
YMC
1
YMC
2
23rd 0

Complete Formula Regional European 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 DC Points
2021 DR Formula RP Motorsport IMO
1

Ret
IMO
2

14
CAT
1

16
CAT
2

12
MCO
1

24
MCO
2

Ret
LEC
1

28
LEC
2

20
ZAN
1

21
ZAN
2

20
SPA
1
SPA
2
RBR
1
RBR
2
VAL
1
VAL
2
MUG
1
MUG
2
MNZ
1
MNZ
2
26th 0

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)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points
2022 Carlin BHR
SPR

21
BHR
FEA

20
IMO
SPR

14
IMO
FEA

Ret
CAT
SPR

25
CAT
FEA

Ret
SIL
SPR

NC
SIL
FEA

20
RBR
SPR

20
RBR
FEA

20
HUN
SPR

Ret
HUN
FEA

22
SPA
SPR

8
SPA
FEA

18
ZAN
SPR

26
ZAN
FEA

Ret
MNZ
SPR

18
MNZ
FEA

14
23rd 3

Complete Formula Regional Middle East 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 DC Points
2023 Hyderabad Blackbirds by MP DUB1
1

24
DUB1
2

20
DUB1
3

15
KUW1
1

Ret
KUW1
2

DNS
KUW1
3

DNS
KUW2
1

16
KUW2
2

10
KUW2
3

Ret
DUB2
1

11
DUB2
2

11
DUB2
3

22†
ABU
1

18
ABU
2

15
ABU
3

10
29th 2

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

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 DC Points
2023 PHM Racing by Charouz BHR
SPR

19
BHR
FEA

18
JED
SPR

18
JED
FEA

Ret
MEL
SPR

Ret
MEL
FEA

12
BAK
SPR

10
BAK
FEA

Ret
MCO
SPR

11
MCO
FEA

16
CAT
SPR

15
CAT
FEA

22
RBR
SPR

12
RBR
FEA

19
SIL
SPR

Ret
SIL
FEA

13
HUN
SPR

18
HUN
FEA

18
SPA
SPR
SPA
FEA
ZAN
SPR
ZAN
FEA
MNZ
SPR
MNZ
FEA
YMC
SPR
YMC
FEA
22nd 0

References

  1. ^ "Brad Benavides moves into Formula 3 with Carlin for 2022". Formula Scout. 18 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Cinema specialist and racing passion: Getting to know the real Brad Benavides". Formula Motorsport Ltd. 19 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Resultados - Campeonato KZ - CEK 2021" (PDF). Karting - RFEDA (in European Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  4. ^ "Circuit BARCELONA- CATALUNYA" (PDF). circuitcat.com. GT Sport. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  5. ^ "FA Racing by Drivex announces Brad Benavides and Patrick Schott for 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup campaign". 1 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  6. ^ Wood, Elliot (2021-02-24). "DR Formula to run Benavides, Bortoleto and Pesce in FREC". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  7. ^ "Imola, Race 1 report: Vidales, Quinn and David". formularegionaleubyalpine.com. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  8. ^ "Saucy scores first car racing win in second Imola FREC race". formulascout.com. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  9. ^ "American-Spanish rookie Benavides joins Carlin". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  10. ^ Southwell, Hazel (2022-08-27). "Bearman seizes first F3 win after huge crash interrupts Spa sprint race". RaceFans. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  11. ^ Magazine, Speedsport. "FIA Formula 3 Championship - 2022: Point standings". www.speedsport-magazine.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  12. ^ "Jerez post-season testing Day 3 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Charouz Racing System announces the drivers lineup for FIA Formula 2 post-season tests at Abu Dhabi". Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  14. ^ "PHM Racing take over Charouz Racing System's FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 entries". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  15. ^ "PHM Racing by Charouz sign Benavides and Nissany for 2023". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  16. ^ Moxon, Daniel (2023-01-27). "Horror 10-car crash sees racer flip upside down and land on another vehicle". The Mirror. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  17. ^ "Formula 2 2023 Result for Round 1 : Sakhir, Bahrain 3–5 March 2023". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  18. ^ Noble, Caitlin (2023-03-19). "Vesti Claims Win in F2 Jeddah Feature Race". EverythingF1 - Formula 1 News and Updates. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  19. ^ Walsh, Fergal (2023-04-01). "Hauger prevails in Melbourne F2 Sprint Race ahead of Crawford". Motorsport Week. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  20. ^ Whitfield, Steve (2023-04-30). "Bearman completes brilliant Baku double with F2 feature race triumph". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  21. ^ "Vesti dominates in wet Silverstone F2 Sprint Race". Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  22. ^ "PHM Racing by Charouz confirms Joshua Mason for Spa-Francorchamps". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.