Accendium(Latin) - kindling, setting on fire
It has been 4 years since the debut of Yu Jiho, the first Korean Formula One driver onto the world scene, and since then, he has become the world champion in 2025. And now, another young Korean driver has...
A/N: liberal changes to irl stuff + references to different F2, F3 drivers here.
Wiki page for Y/N Park
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(Above: Y/N Park in 2025)
Y/N Park (Born 6 January 2004) is a South Korean racing driver competing in Formula One under the South Korean flag for Red Bull Racing. He is the second South Korean driver to compete in Formula One after Yu Jiho.
Personal life
Born in Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea, Park grew up in a family consisting of his parents, and an older sister.
His older sister is Park Sohyun, a member of the girl group TripleS. He studied abroad in Japan during his karting days, and in Italy under a sports scholarship during his early Formula Racing days.
Park has cited fellow Korean Formula One driver Yu Jiho as his inspiration for persevering in driving. The two are known to be good friends outside of racing, having both been part of Prema Racing back in 2019. Park has also cited former Formula One driver Hideki Noda as his mentor in racing.
Besides his native Korean, Park speaks English, Japanese, and Italian.
Junior career
Moving to Japan with his father due to work, Park fell in love with karting when his father took him to a racetrack on the weekends. There, Park befriended future 2023 F2000 Italian Formula Trophy first-place Juju Noda. Noda's father, former Formula 1 driver Hideki Noda noticed Park's potential. With some help from Noda, Park started to compete in KF3 karting at the age of 11 in 2015. Moving up the ladder, Park soon graduated to KF2, joining later in 2018 due to age constraints.
Formula 4
Moving to Italy for a more competitive racing environment, Park gained a sponsor in the form of Casio, in 2019. In the same year, Park joined the Italian F4 Championship.
Making his single-seater debut in the first round of the 2019 Italian F4 Championship , driving for Prema Racing. He got his campaign off to a good start, finishing as the best rookie in his first race and scoring four points across the weekend. Ultimately finishing 2nd place with 233 points, behind Dennis Hauger.
FIA Formula 3 Championship
2020
Park was announced in September of 2019 to be joining FIA Formula 3 Championship alongside future F1 driversLogan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri representing the previous year's winner Prema Racing. Scounted, and signed to the Red Bull junior team via Prema Racing personally by Christian Horner, Park made a name for himself alongside Piastri and Sargeant, finishing a historical one-two-three for Prema Racing in the 2020 championship, with 161 points to his name.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
2021
In December 2020, Park announced that he would continue with Prema Racing into Formula 2, partnered alongside Oscar Piastri, the duo remained a force to be reckoned with. With the Italian team, despite 2 retirements early on in the season, Park was able to snatch 2nd place in the championship, with 192 points. Securing a 1-2 finish for Prema Racing.
Formula 1 Championship
Test driver/reserve driver for RedBull Racing
2022-2023
Park was signed on as a test and reserve driver for RedBull Racing and their sister team, AlphaTuari for 3 seasons beginning in 2022. He got his first experience in an F1 car with the AlphaTuari outfit, at the 2023 British Grand Prix, driving the AT04 in FP1. And got his first F1 race experience during the Dutch Grand Prix, substituting for Daniel Ricciardo due to his injury during FP2, ultimately racing during the weekend, qualifying P16 for the race, but in a show of skill and tenacity, Park finished P6, scoring 6 points, finishing ahead of former teammate Piastri, earning him praise from many drivers on the grid, such as Lewis Hamilton, Yu Jiho, and future teammate, Max Verstappen.
2024
Park remained as test and reserve driver for Redbull Racing and RB, taking the seat of the RB20 during pre-season testing at Sakhir in February. Park took to the RB20 again during the reinstated Korean Grand Prix during FP2 on March 7th.
2025
Park remained as a test and reserve driver for a third year with RB and Red Bull, taking over the RB21 for the Mexican Grand Prix weekend when Sergio Perez had to leave due to a family emergency. Park finished P4, scoring 12 points.
2026
In November 2025, with the announcement that Perez was retiring after the 2025 season, Red Bull subsequently announced that Park would be stepping up into Formula One starting in the 2026 season. Taking the driver number of 21.
Other ventures
(endorsements)
In January 2026, Park was announced as an official spokesperson for Samsung's smartphone lineup.
