Malik Zidan
Malik Zidan (born December 23, 2000 in Helwan, Egypt) is an Egyptian racing driver who currently competes in Formula One.
Early Racing Career
Having few racing oppprtunities in Egypt, Zidan moved to Europe, obtaining German citizenship in 2013. He started in karting, obtaining mixed results in assorted karting series.
2016-2017
Zidan got his first taste of formula racing in Japan, racing for Blokkmonsta Racing in AutoReject Nippon. On his debut race he would take the checkered flag at Autopolis, defeating many seasoned drivers and up-and-coming stars on his first outing. He would obtain another podium at Yeognam and ultimately finish 9th in the championship.
Zidan's success in AutoReject Nippon would earn him full-time seat at Blokkmonsta in AutoReject 2.0, taking part in the the short-lived North American outshoot. He would face tougher competition in the Americas, but he would bring in a steady stream of points, culminating with another victory at Indianapolis. After picking up 2 podiums at Indianapolis he would would lose pace, not scoring any points for the rest of the season. Despite this dropoff in form he would finish 6th in the championship.
2017-2018
At the end of 2017 Zidan would participate in several non-championship races in AutoReject 3.5 for Blokkmonsta. He would give the team a top 10 finish at the non-championship race in Autopolis, by far the best performance for Blokkmonsta's freshman season in AR 3.5. He would then race in the Middle Eastern Cup, picking up a points finish in Qatar.
He would spend the winter flying back-and-forth between the Middle East for AR 3.5 and Japan for the renamed FRENCH series when Alexi Schnass would prove too out of his element. Zidan would have no success in FRENCH, scoring no points all-season.
After a very busy off-season he would race in Eurasian Formula 3 for FXS Racing. Facing his toughest competition yet he would take home several podiums, including a win at the feature race at Donington Park. He would finish 6th again in the championship, a respectable, if superstitious, continuation of his 6th-place finishes in championships.
Zidan would also test in the AutoRejects World Series for Blokkmonsta. His results were unimpressive, with Blokkmonsta's substandard car partly to blame due to its unreliability.
2018-2019
For the off-season Zidan would return to North Africa to race in the Africa Racing League for the two rounds in Morocco. Zidan would take 2nd at Ain-Diab Circuit and scored no points in Marrakech after nearly rolling his car on a curb.
After having a break Zidan would race again in Formula 3, switching to Scuderia Adriatica. Zidan would have a more trying performance for his sophomore season, the older driver being tested by the proven talents that came up from the new Formula 4 series. Zidan would drive very recklessly at Motegi, resulting in a one-weekend suspension. His fortunes would improve in the latter half of the season, taking several podiums and finishing 9th in the championship.
2019-2020
Zidan raced again in the Africa Racing League for the 2019-20 Season. Driving full-time for Automovel Monastir he failed to win a race but still finished 3rd in the standings.
2020-2021
In 2020, Zidan was a test driver for Aspire Formula in Formula 2. In 2021, he stepped up into a race seat for the same team but was unable to score any podiums - finishing in 11th overall.
Formula One
Loonmotor (2022-present)
Zidan entered Formula One as a reserve driver for Loonmotor in 2022, before being signed to a race seat for 2023.