Noel León

Noel Jesús León Vázquez (born 21 December 2004) is a Mexican racing driver who drives for Campos Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.

León is the 2019–20 NACAM F4, 2021 F4 US and the 2023 Euroformula Open champion. With his success, he stepped up to FIA Formula 3 for 2024 and 2025, finishing tenth in the former with Van Amersfoort Racing.

Formula 4 (2018–2021)

2018

León's first appearance in single-seaters was at the penultimate round of the 2017-18 NACAM F4 season, deputising for Michael Santos at Ram Racing. It was a strong debut, as he finished on the podium in races one and two.

León returned for the opening round of the 2018-19 NACAM F4 season, which supported the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix. He once again finished on the podium in race one, and was fourth in race two.

2020

León contested the entire 2019–20 NACAM F4 season with Ram Racing once more, opening the season with a win and another podium during the round that coincided the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix. He maintained his form for the rest of the season, scoring a win in each of the remaining six rounds. Those wins, coupled with eight further podiums, allowed him to clinch the title with one race to spare.

2021

In 2021, León progressed into the F4 United States Championship with DEForce Racing, partnering fellow countryman José Andrés Martínez. Whilst he only scored two wins at Road America and Mid-Ohio across the year, the Mexican managed to move his way to the lead of the standings with a string of consistent podium finishes, culminating in a double podium at the Circuit of the Americas in a round supporting the 2021 United States Grand Prix, where León clinched the championship.

Formula Regional (2022)

León made his first step into European single-seaters in 2022, racing in the Formula Regional European Championship with Arden Motorsport. He wouldn't score points at the opening two rounds in Monza and Imola, however this would change in Monaco, where he managed to obtain tenth place in the first race and ninth place in the second, scoring his first points. However, these were the only points he scored during a difficult season, and he finished 23rd in the standings with three points, behind teammates Eduardo Barrichello and Joshua Dürksen.

Euroformula Open (2023)

For the 2023 season, León moved to the Euroformula Open Championship, driving for Team Motopark. He enjoyed a dominant campaign, taking seven victories and a further nine podiums to secure the championship by 87 points. He began the season strongly in Portimão, finishing third on debut before securing his first win in the third race. A podium lockout in Spa-Francorchamps—which included a win—alongside another victory at the Hungaroring cemented him as the championship leader. His first winless weekend came in Paul Ricard, where he was eliminated in a collision with Francesco Simonazzi in the first race. Nevertheless, León responded with a double victory in Austria. Further wins in Monza and Mugello allowed him to clinch the title at the latter round with one round to spare.

Formula 3 (2022–2025)

2022-23

León took part in the first day of FIA Formula 3 post-season testing in 2022 with Van Amersfoort Racing. In the 2023 post-season testing, he again joined Van Amersfoort Racing.

León's first competitive experience in Formula 3 was at the 2023 Macau Grand Prix, once again joining Van Amersfoort Racing, where he finished 19th.

2024

In December 2023, Van Amersfoort Racing announced that León would be their first signing for the 2024 FIA Formula 3 season. After failing to score in the opening two rounds, León secured his first breakthrough in the Imola sprint race, where he initially won, but was demoted to third following a post-race penalty for weaving behind the safety car. He finished fourth in the Monaco sprint race, though a collision with Nikola Tsolov in the feature race dropped him down the order. Further points followed in Barcelona from thirteenth and Austria, although he missed out on a top-five finish in the latter feature race after contact with Oliver Goethe caused a puncture. He finished runner-up in the Silverstone sprint race, taking his second rostrum of the campaign. He built on this momentum in Budapest, achieving his maiden feature race podium with second place after Laurens van Hoepen was disqualified. León enjoyed one of his strongest weekends in Spa-Francorchamps, earning another sprint race podium with a last-lap overtake on Tim Tramnitz before finishing fourth in the feature race. He concluded the season with seventh place in the Monza feature race. With four podiums and 79 points, León finished tenth in the overall standings, scoring all but twelve of Van Amersfoort's points that season.

Following the season, León returned to the Macau Grand Prix with Pinnacle Motorsport, where he ran in third throughout the race and successfully defended against a late change from Freddie Slater to secure a podium finish.

2025

León switched to reigning champions Prema Racing for the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship, partnering McLaren juniors Ugo Ugochukwu and Brando Badoer. The team struggled to adapt to new regulations, with León scoring just three points across the opening three rounds. He qualified seventh in Monaco in an attempt to revive his campaign, but endured a difficult weekend, retiring from both races after colliding with Callum Voisin on the opening lap of the sprint and crashing out from sixth in the feature. His challenging patch of form continued over the next two rounds, where he recorded tenth place finishes in both sprint races. León's breakthrough came in Silverstone; after finishing seventh in the sprint, a strategic gamble to start on wet tyres in the feature race secured him his first podium of the season. In Monza, he qualified in the top three for the first time, and despite a penalty dropping him out of the points in the sprint, he converted his strong grid position into a third-place finish the feature race. León concluded the season seventeenth in the standings with 36 points and two podiums.

FIA Formula 2 (2026–)

León was promoted to Formula 2 for 2026, joining Campos Racing alongside Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov.

Formula One

On 14 January 2022 Red Bull announced that León would be joining the Red Bull Junior Team in the form of a supported driver. His contract only lasted a year and he was dropped by the team at the start of 2023. Months after, León revealed that he had not received adequate support prior to the start of his first racing season in Europe, adding that he was disappointed that the programme had not "put [him] in a top three team", contrary to previous promise.

León was born in Monterrey and began competitive karting in 2013. During the off-season, León often trains with fellow Mexican drivers Pato O'Ward and Sergio Pérez.

Karting career summary

Racing career summary

* Season still in progress.

Complete NACAM Formula 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula 4 United States Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* – Most positions gained

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season still in progress.