AIX Racing selected British-Irish rookie driver Cian Shields to complete their 2025 line-up for the F2 championship. The young driver earned promotion from F3 to replace Niels Koolen for the final two rounds of the 2024 F2 season. Starting from the back of the grid on his debut weekend, Shields secured an impressive 11th place finish in the 2024 Qatar Feature Race by capitalising on a well-timed pit stop during the safety car period. Although Shields ended an underwhelming F3 season with Hitech in 30th place in the championship, AIX Racing identified potential in the British-Irish driver and confirmed him for a full-time seat alongside Joshua Dürksen for 2025.
Currently, Shields sits 20th in the 2025 F2 drivers’ championship, trailing his teammate Dürksen, who occupies 15th place. While the AIX Racing driver matched his 2024 Qatar Sprint Race finish by reaching 11th in the Imola Feature Race, much of his progress has come as a result of benefiting from on-track incidents. Nonetheless, his season has been hampered by retirements in both the Jeddah Sprint and the Monaco Sprint. With no points halfway through the 2025 F2 season, the rookie driver must demonstrate in the remaining rounds that AIX Racing’s faith in him was well placed.
Underwhelming start in Melbourne
Shields’ return to Formula 2 took place during the sole race of the Melbourne F2 Round. After qualifying last, he started the Sprint Race from 17th on the grid, benefitting from multiple 10-place grid penalties handed to other drivers. The British-Irish rookie gained positions in the early stages of the race and ultimately finished in P17.
At the race start, Shields made an excellent launch, overtaking two rivals before Turn 1. However, he soon lost ground and dropped back to P20. The retirement of Victor Martins promoted him to P19. Following the end of the Virtual Safety Car on lap 4, Shields regained momentum and climbed back to P17.
As Dino Beganovic spun and fell down the order, Shields moved into P16 and held that position for several laps. When Meguetounif retired, Shields advanced to P14. However, Beganovic soon recovered and overtook Shields, who then fell to P15 by lap 18. On laps 19 and 20, Amaury Cordeel and Kush Maini both passed Shields, pushing him back to P17. He maintained that position until the chequered flag.
A quiet weekend in Sakhir
Shields qualified last once more and started the Sprint from P22. He gained four places to finish P18. He moved up to P21 after Montoya retired and passed Miyata before the Safety Car. Martins and Esterson both pitted, allowing Shields to rise to P18. He overtook Maini on lap 5 and moved up to P15 after passing Goethe and Fornaroli.
He held this position until a Safety Car on lap 17. While other drivers pitted, Shields climbed to P12. When racing resumed, he lost ground rapidly and dropped to P17 by the finish.
In the Feature Race, Shields struggled to make an impact. He climbed to P19 early on but lost places to Maini and Cordeel before pitting on lap 15. He rejoined at the back and finished P22.
A disappointing outing in Jeddah
Shields’ weekend in Jeddah started with a disastrous retirement in the Saturday Sprint Race. Starting from P21, Shields hit the barrier at Turn 1, ending his race before completing the first lap of the Sprint Race.
He recovered slightly in the Feature Race, finishing 19th. After falling to the back in the early laps, he gained ground as rivals pitted. Once he made his own stop, he rejoined in P20. Montoya’s retirement promoted him to P19 at the flag.
A promising recovery in Imola
Imola brought Shields’ most promising weekend yet. Despite qualifying last again, he climbed to P18 in the Sprint after a last-lap collision with John Bennett. He then delivered his strongest result of the season with P11 in the Feature Race.
Shields gained two spots on lap 1 after Montoya and Martins dropped back. Montoya passed him again on lap 5. After pitting on lap 8, Shields rejoined in P19 and lost a place to Verschoor. In the final ten laps, he gained multiple positions as others pitted, finishing just outside the points.
A mixed Monaco weekend
The Monte Carlo streets proved unforgiving. In the Sprint, Shields started P19, dropped to P21, and retired after a Turn 5 collision on lap 3.
He found more luck on Sunday. A major incident at Turn 1 eliminated eight cars, lifting Shields into the midfield. Another incident caused by Dürksen brought out the Virtual Safety Car. When it ended, Shields ran P11. After a brief drop to P12 following his pit stop, he lost further positions to Bennett and Meguetounif. A late Safety Car and final red flag froze the order, and Shields took P13 at the finish.
A modest rebound in Barcelona
In Barcelona, Shields started P20 in the Sprint and finished P12. Two retirements and a few strategic pit stops ahead helped him climb the order. In the Feature Race, he struggled to maintain pace and crossed the line in a lowly P19.
Room for improvement
As the 2025 F2 season reaches its midpoint, Cian Shields continues to search for a breakthrough. He has shown flashes of potential—particularly in Imola—but has yet to translate them into points. His progress often stems from others’ misfortunes rather than decisive overtakes or pace on merit.
Shields consistently trails Dürksen, and errors like those in Jeddah and Monaco have limited his ability to build momentum. With limited time remaining, he must start producing more assertive performances to validate AIX Racing’s faith in him.
The potential remains. What Shields must now prove is whether he can turn glimpses into results.
