Dutch
Niels Koolen (born 25 May 2001) is a Dutch racing driver who made a brief FIA Formula 2 appearance in 2024. He is managed by A14 Management, the driver-management venture founded by Fernando Alonso.
Koolen's F2 outing came in August 2024, when AIX Racing drafted him in after Taylor Barnard vacated his seat. He raced for the team at the Monza and Baku rounds alongside Joshua Dürksen, finishing 19th in both the Monza sprint and feature races. After the Baku weekend, AIX confirmed he would not return for the final two rounds of the season, ending his Formula 2 involvement.
Koolen described Formula 1 as his dream when he stepped up, but the 2024 cameo with AIX represented the extent of his FIA F2 starts. The short stint matches his aggregated grounding entry of AIX Racing.