Laurens van Hoepen is already in talks with multiple Formula 1 teams. The Dutchman kicked off his Formula 2 season excellently with a podium and can almost taste F1. GPblog had an exclusive conversation with the driver from Wassenaar about his F1 dream and the considerations of when to sign—or not sign—with an F1 team.
In recent years, Laurens van Hoepen has increasingly emerged as one of the new talents in the junior categories on the road to Formula 1. After a difficult second season in Formula 3 with ART, the Dutchman is now shining on his Formula 2 debut with Trident.
The second year with ART in Formula 3 was not a success. After a strong first season in F3 with, among other things, three podiums and one pole position, Van Hoepen remained loyal to the French team. However, ART failed to get a handle on the regulations, leaving Van Hoepen stuck in the midfield.
Formula 2 teams saw through that, and Trident came knocking for Van Hoepen. The Italian team finished last in the 2025 championship with 2 points, but the Dutchman saw potential in the team. And so far, he’s been proven right. In the season-opening feature race, Van Hoepen surged from P11 to third place. Adding his seventh place in the sprint race, Van Hoepen now sits third in the championship after the first race weekend.
The Formula 2 season is currently on pause. Races were scheduled in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but they were canceled. That gave Van Hoepen time to sit down for an exclusive interview with GPblog about his future in motorsport.
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You're already walking around the Formula 1 paddock. That must leave you wanting more, right?
“Yeah, definitely. It’s such a good feeling, especially after such a good race, to be there in the Formula 1 paddock—it stays mega cool, of course. It does make you think, ‘f***, that dream is really getting a lot closer now.’ So yeah, for sure.”
To what extent are you already working on that—making contacts and taking steps? Is that already possible at this point?
“Yes. There are definitely a few conversations with Formula 1 teams going on at the moment. That’s good, of course. It also stands out that I was on the podium with Trident. That’s nice, but for me the most important thing now is just to perform as well as possible and keep getting good results. The rest I don’t involve myself with too much.”
“The people behind me, like Julien (Simon-Chautemps, Laurens’ manager and former senior race engineer of Kimi Raikkonen in F1 and now founder of JSC7 engineering, ed.) or Infinity with Harry Soden, are taking care of that. My focus is on doing the best job I can, and they handle the rest for me.”
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Richard Verschoor is now with McLaren, and he basically arranged that by just walking up to Zak Brown himself. Is it sometimes really that simple, or is it different in your case?
“No, sometimes it is like that, for sure. Only in my case, those conversations are already underway. I do talk to people at times, but it’s not like I have to approach someone myself. It really comes down to results now—making sure I perform, and the rest will follow.”
You previously said that aiming for the Formula 2 title this season might be a bit too ambitious. Does that automatically mean you’re targeting a second year in Formula 2, or are there other paths to your ultimate dream?
“The plan is to do two years of Formula 2. If things keep going like this and you’re in the title fight, then maybe it could be earlier. But I think our goal this year is simply to have a good season, and then fight for the Formula 2 title next year.”
You’ve got drivers like Tsolov (Red Bull) and Camara (Ferrari) who already have a deal with a Formula 1 team. On the other hand, you saw Fornaroli win the title last year and only then sign a deal with McLaren. Is there an advantage to being tied to such a team earlier, or does it actually give you a kind of freedom not to have that too soon?
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“Yeah, I think there’s a good middle ground there. It’s tricky to commit yourself early to a Formula 1 team, because you don’t know if a seat will open up. If you’d signed with McLaren two years ago, I don’t think it would have given you much freedom. You know there are two young guys there who are both doing very well.”
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F2 rivals Tsolov and Camara already have a deal with an F1 team
“On the other hand, you do benefit a lot from the support of an F1 team. You might already get time in the F1 sim, and F1 teams have so much knowledge that you really gain from it. So it cuts both ways. You don’t want to limit yourself too much by being tied to an F1 team you can’t leave. On the other hand, you do want the advantages of such a deal. You really have to think ahead and estimate where a seat might open up.”
A tricky situation, then, because you also don’t want to miss out too long on the benefits of an F1 team if other drivers can use their knowledge and simulator.
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“Yeah, exactly. We had the chance a few years earlier to go to a Formula 1 team, and we didn’t do it then in order to stay free. In hindsight, that’s always a tough decision as to whether it was the right one.”
That depends. Do they have a seat available now?
“No, no, no (laughs). What’s most important for me is just to keep doing well. To keep scoring points. The rest will come later.”
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