Former FIA Formula 3 driver Zdeněk Chovanec passed away 18 July 2026 aged 21. Chovanec, born in Venezuela and raised in Czechia and Portugal, was best known for his F3 stints at Charouz Racing System in 2021 and 2022. Feeder Series remembers the life and career of a young racer taken from us too soon.
By H. M. Gillard and Michael McClure
Zdeněk Chovanec López was born 9 October 2004 in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. He moved to Prague in Czechia, his father’s home country, as a young child before relocating again to Portugal in 2018.
Gaining his first experiences at the Kartódromo Cabo do Mundo, Chovanec began his competitive karting career that same year, placing ninth in the Junior class of the Portuguese national karting championship in 2018 and sixth in the X30 category in 2019. Chovanec also competed in the Spanish karting championship’s senior category that year.
Chovanec moved to single-seaters in 2020, racing in the F4 UAE Championship for Xcel Motorsport. He took two podiums, both third-place finishes, on his way to seventh in the standings. Future Charouz teammate Francesco Pizzi was crowned champion.
