[1] Staněk made his single-seater debut in early 2019 at the last round of the Formula 4 UAE Championship, as a guest driver for Dragon Racing.

Eventually racking up three race wins and nine podiums across the two series, he was especially successful in the former, where he finished 4th in the standings and won the rookies' championship ahead of Mercedes junior Paul Aron.

[8][9][10] He was instead placed in one of the team's FIA Formula 3 seats on the Thursday prior to the season opener, replacing the outgoing Niko Kari and becoming the youngest driver in the championship.

[17] Following a bad start to the season at Bahrain, where he suffered punctures in both races that sent him down the order, the Czech driver achieved his first-ever F3 victory in Imola, putting himself third in the championship after two rounds.

[29] The season proved challenging, and despite flashes of speed that included a run from 22nd to seventh at Monaco and qualifying third at Monza, the Czech driver finished 18th in the standings.

[32] After a period of financial uncertainty,[33] Staněk eventually found new sponsorship from the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) and was retained by Trident to partner Richard Verschoor in 2024.

[36] Following the Monza round, Staněk parted ways with Trident owing to unsatisfactory equipment and lack of budget,[37] and was replaced by Formula 3 graduate Christian Mansell.