Marcus Armstrong facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marcus Armstrong
Armstrong in 2022
Nationality	New Zealander
Born	Marcus John Armstrong (2000-07-29) 29 July 2000 (age 25) Christchurch, New Zealand
IndyCar Series career
29 races run over 2 years
Team(s)	No. 66 (Meyer Shank Racing)
Best finish	14th (2024)
First race	2023 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg)
Last race	2021 Honda Indy 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 2 0
Previous series
2020–2022 2019 2018 2017–2019 2017 2017 2016 2016 2016	FIA Formula 2 FIA Formula 3 FIA F3 European Toyota Racing Series ADAC F4 Italian F4 Formula Renault Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 NEC BRDC F3 Autumn Trophy
Championship titles
2017	Italian F4

Marcus John Armstrong (born 29 July 2000) is a talented New Zealander motor racing driver. He competes in the exciting IndyCar series. He drives the No. 66 Honda car for Meyer Shank Racing. Before IndyCar, Marcus raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2020 to 2022. He also finished second in the 2019 Formula 3 season. From 2017 to 2021, he was part of the special Ferrari Driver Academy.

Marcus started his single-seater racing journey in 2014. In 2017, he won his first big title in the 2017 Italian F4 Championship. He also came in second in the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 Championship. In 2018, he moved up to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and finished 5th. The next year, in 2019, he was the runner-up in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. He then joined the 2020 Formula 2 Championship but had some tough seasons, finishing 13th each year. After that, he made the big move to IndyCar.

Marcus Armstrong: Racing Star

Early Racing Days

Karting Fun (2010–2016)

Marcus Armstrong was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He began karting, which is racing small, open-wheel vehicles, in 2010. He won many major titles in New Zealand between 2011 and 2014. In international karting, his best result was 12th in the Karting World Championship in 2015. Experts at Motorsport.com even called him one of the most exciting karting talents in 2016.

First Steps in Single-Seaters (2014–2016)

While still karting, Marcus tried out single-seater cars in 2014. He raced in the 2014–15 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship and finished 7th. In 2015, he tested a Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 car. In 2016, he raced in BRDC British Formula 3 and two Formula Renault 2.0 series. He was a guest driver in the final round at Estoril, finishing 9th and 10th.

Winning as a Ferrari Junior (2017)

In December 2016, Marcus joined the Ferrari Driver Academy. This meant Ferrari, a famous racing team, supported his career. He raced in both the ADAC F4 and Italian F4 championships with a team called Prema Powerteam.

Italian F4 Success

Marcus had a strong season in Italian F4. He won his first race at Vallelunga. He then won three more races and was on the podium in every race at the second Mugello round. At the final race in Monza, he finished second. This was enough for him to win the championship with two races left!

ADAC F4 Challenge

Marcus also raced in ADAC F4. He won his first race at the Red Bull Ring and got two more podium finishes there. He won again at Oschersleben and the Nürburgring. He was very close to winning the championship but finished second. He lost to Jüri Vips by only 4.5 points.

Toyota Racing Series (2017–2019)

Marcus raced in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand for three years.

2017 Season

In 2017, Marcus won the first race of the season. He won another race at Hampton. He also had a win and two second-place finishes in the final round. He ended the championship in 4th place.

2018 Season

Marcus started the 2018 season perfectly, winning two races. These were his only wins that year. He continued to get podiums at Teretonga and Hampton. He had a mechanical problem in the final race while leading. This caused him to drop to 7th and finish 3rd in the championship.

2019 Season

Marcus returned for the 2019 season. He started with podium finishes in all three races. He won his first race at Teretonga. He then won two more races at Hampton Downs, taking the lead in the championship. He had a suspension issue at Taupo but still won the final race there. In the end, he finished second in the series, just ten points behind Liam Lawson. He had five wins and 346 points.

FIA Formula 3 (2018–2019, 2023)

2018 Season

Armstrong racing in the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

Marcus moved up to the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Prema. He got a podium in his second race at Pau. His first win came at the Norisring, where he also got two more podiums. This put him in the lead of the championship. He struggled with tire wear at Silverstone and lost the lead. He finished 5th in the standings with 260 points.

Macau Grand Prix (2018)

Marcus finished 8th in his first Macau Grand Prix.

2019 Season

Armstrong driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2019 Spielberg Formula 3 round.

Marcus joined the first-ever FIA Formula 3 Championship with Prema Racing. He qualified third in the first race in Barcelona and finished in the same spot. At Paul Ricard, he had a strong Race 1 but collided with Jake Hughes. He recovered to finish sixth.

At the Red Bull Ring, Marcus got his first pole position of the year. He finished third in the race. In Race 2, he was second behind his teammate Robert Shwartzman. On the last lap, he tried to overtake Shwartzman, but they touched, and Marcus's tire punctured, dropping him to 19th. At Silverstone, he qualified second and finished third.

He won his first race of the season at the Hungaroring. He started from reverse pole and led the whole race. In Spa-Francorchamps, he started 19th but climbed to 8th in Race 1, giving him reverse pole for Race 2. He won Race 2 and dedicated it to Anthoine Hubert, a driver who sadly passed away.

At Monza, he qualified second but was moved to seventh due to a penalty. He finished second in Race 1 but was penalized again, dropping him to 21st. In the final round at Sochi, he won Race 1 and finished second in Race 2. This meant he became the vice-champion, finishing second overall with 158 points, three wins, and seven podiums.

Macau Grand Prix (2019)

Marcus returned to the 2019 Macau Grand Prix and finished 8th.

Macau Grand Prix (2023)

Armstrong competing at the 2023 Macau Grand Prix.

In November 2023, Marcus raced in the 2023 Macau Grand Prix again with MP Motorsport. He finished the main race in 18th place.

FIA Formula 2 (2020–2022)

2020 Season

In November 2019, Marcus moved up to the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship with ART Grand Prix. In his first race in Austria, he finished an amazing second place on his debut. In the sprint race, he started third but had a mechanical issue and had to stop. In the second Austrian round, he got his second and last podium of the season, finishing third.

After these strong starts, Marcus had a tough time for the next six races. He had some bad luck and didn't score points. In Mugello, he finished ninth, getting points again. He ended the season 13th overall with 52 points and two podiums.

2021 Season

Armstrong driving the Dallara F2 2018 during the 2021 Silverstone Formula 2 round.

For the 2021 season, Marcus joined DAMS. He had some bad luck early on, with power loss and car problems. In the feature race in Bahrain, he finished fifth. In Monaco, he had to start from the pit lane due to a car problem. He later crashed after being hit by another driver.

In Baku, he crashed after misjudging his braking. His feature race also ended early due to a collision. At Silverstone, he got his first F2 podium in over a year, finishing second in the sprint race.

In Jeddah, Marcus won his first Formula 2 race! He said it was a "reward for the work" of his team. In the next sprint race, he was hit from behind. He finished the season 13th again with 49 points and two podiums.

2022 Season

Armstrong driving for Hitech Grand Prix during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 2 round.

Marcus joined Hitech Grand Prix for the 2022 season. In the first race in Bahrain, he finished fifth. In Jeddah, he had to retire from the sprint race due to an engine issue.

In Imola, he started second in the sprint race and won his first race of the year! He had no radio during the entire race. In Monaco, he finished third in the sprint race, getting another podium. This was his first time getting points in both races of an F2 event.

At the Red Bull Ring, he started from reverse pole in the sprint race and dominated, leading every lap to win. In France, he had a collision and was penalized. His feature race ended on lap 1 due to another crash. In Budapest, he started second and took the lead early. A slow pit stop caused him to drop to sixth.

In Zandvoort, he started second in the sprint race and won his third race of the season. He led every lap. He finished the season 13th in the standings with 93 points and four podiums.

Formula One

In November 2016, Marcus was invited to join the Ferrari Driver Academy. He tested a Formula 1 car, the 2018 Ferrari SF71H, at Fiorano in January. He said the car "was not too difficult to drive." He tested the same car again in April. After his 2021 season, he left the Ferrari Driver Academy. He later said he felt it was "a dead end" for him.

IndyCar Journey

In October 2022, Marcus tested an IndyCar for the first time with Dale Coyne Racing. The team boss, Dale Coyne, said Marcus was "a very good candidate."

Chip Ganassi Racing (2023–2024)

2023 Season

On 2 December 2022, Chip Ganassi Racing signed Marcus to drive the No. 11 car. He raced on road courses and street circuits in the 2023 IndyCar Series. In his first race in St. Petersburg, he finished 11th. In his second race at Long Beach, he finished 8th. He had his best finish of the year, seventh place, at the 2023 Honda Indy Toronto. He finished 20th overall with 214 points and was named Rookie Of The Year, which he called "a great bonus."

After the season, he completed the Indy Rookie Orientation Programme. This allowed him to compete in the famous Indy 500 in 2024.

2024 Season

Armstrong competing in 2024 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Marcus extended his contract with Chip Ganassi Racing and became a full-time driver for the 2024 season. At the Sonsio Grand Prix, he finished fifth. Sadly, his first Indy 500 ended early due to an engine problem. However, he earned his first IndyCar podium with a third-place finish at Detroit. He had four more top-10 finishes and ended the season 14th in the standings with 298 points.

Meyer Shank Racing (2025–)

2025 Season

After two seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing, Marcus moved to Meyer Shank Racing for the 2025 season. He is now teammates with Felix Rosenqvist.

Other Racing

FIA World Endurance Championship

In November 2022, Marcus tested an endurance racing car for the first time. He tested an LMP2 Alpine car at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Personal Life

Marcus hosts a podcast about motorsport and food called Screaming Meals. He hosts it with motorsport insurance salesman James Harvey Blair, Formula 2 driver Clément Novalak, and IndyCar driver Callum Ilott. When he was growing up, Marcus was a big fan of the 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen.

Racing Career Summary

^† As Armstrong was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

• Season still in progress.

Images for kids

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  Armstrong in 2022

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  Armstrong racing in the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

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  Armstrong driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2019 Spielberg Formula 3 round.

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  Armstrong competing at the 2023 Macau Grand Prix.

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  Armstrong driving the Dallara F2 2018 during the 2021 Silverstone Formula 2 round.

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  Armstrong driving for Hitech Grand Prix during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 2 round.

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  Armstrong competing in 2024 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

See also

In Spanish: Marcus Armstrong para niños