Laurens Van Hoepen will step up to FIA Formula 3 next season with ART Grand Prix.
The 18 year old moves to Formula 3 having completed two seasons in Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine with ART. He finished 10th in 2023, taking two podium finishes at his home event in Zandvoort.
Prior to that, he earned national success in karting, including a IAME Euro Series title in the X30 Mini class in 2017 before moving up to single seaters.
Speaking about the prospect of racing in F3, Van Hoepen said that he was looking forward to carrying on the momentum from post-season testing with the team.
I’m really happy to make the step up to FIA F3 with ART Grand Prix. This will be my third year working with the team and over the past two years, we have really gotten to know each other well, and we have shown that in the positive F3 tests. Next year will be exciting and I fully trust that ART Grand Prix and I can do a good job.
Van Hoepen on the news.
Despite a difficult environment in 2023, Laurens has always been a fighter and helped the team to turn things around. During his first F3 test, he quickly found his feet and developed a good relationship with the engineers. His qualities as a driver and fighter will be invaluable in a complex championship that leaves nothing to chance.
Mari Boya will be returning for a second Formula 3 season, with the Spanish driver linking up with Campos Racing for the 2024 season.
The 19 year old secured one podium in his rookie season with MP Motorsport, dovetailing it with a campaign in Eurocup-3, where he finished second with five wins to his name.
The three-time Spanish Karting Chamion’s single-seater career began in 2020, where he achieved the Vice-Champion title in Spanish F4, where he secured three wins and 14 podiums. From there, Boya competed in two seasons of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, finishing 14th and 10th in the Standings before stepping up to F3 in 2023.
Boya, said he feels optimistic after a successful showing with the team during the three post-season tests in Jerez, Barcelona and Imola.
I feel super happy to be joining Campos Racing for a second season of FIA Formula 3. I feel motivated and confident following such positive post-season testing in which was my first time working on track with my new team. A new era just begins and I’m looking forward to starting the new season and achieve success together.
Boya on the news.
We are glad to have Mari with us for the next season. Definitively, he is one of the most talented drivers in the field. Despite 2023 was his rookie season, there were several highlights proving the best is still to come with more experience under his belt. Post-season testing was quite good for us and the new season looks pretty promising. Campos Racing has a tradition of working with emerging Spanish talents, and Mari is just a new chapter of our history.
HiTech Pulse-Eight have retained Luke Browning for the 2024 Formula 3 campaign, announcing that the Williams Academy driver will spend his second season in the Championship with them.
2024 will be Browning’s third year in the Hitech fold, having achieved the GB3 Championship title with them in 2022. Earning his promotion to F3 this year, the Brit went on to score one podium finish in the Barcelona Sprint Race, overall he finished 15th in the Standings. Alongside this, Browning stormed to a lights to flag victory in the Macau Grand Prix last month.
Browning’s racing career began in saloon cars in 2019, before joining the British F4 grid in 2019. His follow up season included seven wins, 16 podiums and six pole positions to bring home the title. He then went on to finish third in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship the next year, in addition to three-race appearances in Italian F4 and GB3 Championship.
Completing a full campaign in GB3, Browning was crowned Champion with five victories and 13 podiums to his name. Not only this, he went on to win the BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, completing his prize in an F1 car with Aston Martin and followed that up by earning a spot in the Williams Driver Academy this year.
I am super excited to announce I’ll be joining the grid with Hitech Pulse-Eight for the 2024 Formula 3 season. I have an abundance of faith in the team around me, with the things we learned throughout the season last year I believe we will be able to build on our skills and ability to execute which we showed a glimmer of most recently in Macau. This Championship will never be easy with the standard of drivers but also with just the nature of the Championship. However, having visited all of the tracks we’re going to next year once before, I believe puts us in a great position to score points in every race weekend going forward. I’m super grateful to Williams Racing and Hitech Pulse-Eight for their support going into the new season. Consistently delivering is the goal, and one I look forward to achieving next year.
Browning on the news.
We are delighted to have Luke racing with the team again in his second season of FIA Formula 3. We are confident in his ability to fight for wins and come away with a consistent set of results. Following our win in Macau together last month, we are eager to be fighting upfront from the get-go when the 2024 season commences in February.
Oliver Goethe will be back for a second FIA Formula 3 campaign with Campos Racing. The Red Bull Junior is the first of the Spanish outfit’s three drivers confirmed for the 2024 season.
The 19 year old makes the switch from Trident, with whom he finished eighth in the Drivers’ Championship this year. He earned his maiden victory in the Silverstone Feature Race, alongside a podium finish in the opening Feature Race in Sakhir.
Goethe’s single-seater career kicked off in 2019 when he made a one round appearance in the Spanish F4 Championship. Returning for a full season the next year, he earned one wins and six podiums on his way to fifth in the Standings.
From there, he went on to compete in the 2021 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. After racing in the Formula Regional Asian Championship at the start of 2022, Goethe triumphed in the Euroformula Open Championship, achieving 11 wins and a further seven podiums on his way to the title.
That same year, the German-Danish driver made his Formula 3 debut with Campos securing a best result of fourth across his four race appearances. He reunited with the Spanish team during post-season testing this year and went on to go fastest on Day 1 in Jerez and Day 2 in Barcelona, before finishing ninth in the Macau Grand Prix last month.
I am excited to be back with Campos Racing for a full season! They helped to make my entrance to FIA F3 as smooth as possible back in 2022. This year we completed a successful post-season testing programme and the Macau GP together which makes me feel positive about what’s coming next. My goal is to fight for wins and podiums from the start and be consistent. That’s what matters the most in this Championship.
Goethe on the news.
Ollie made his debut in the series with us and he is now further stronger and experienced as already seen in Macau making an amazing recovery drive in such difficult urban circuit. Hopefully we have an exciting, successful campaign ahead together.
Trident have confirmed that Leonardo Fornaroli will be sticking with the team for his second FIA Formula 3 season in 2024.
The Italian driver finished the 2023 season 11th in the Drivers’ Championship where he took one pole position and three podiums in his rookie year.
When Fornaroli arrived in F3 he had plenty of seasons-worth of single-seater experience under his belt. He achieved a top 10 finish in each of his first three years in car racing, ending ninth in Italian F4 in 2020 before following that up with P5 in 2021 before finishing the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine eighth in 2022.
Ahead of his 2024 campaign with Trident, Fornaroli said he was very excited to be continuing his F3 career with the team.
I am obviously very excited to be staying with Trident Motorsport for another season. This team became like a family for me where I could find the highest culture of motorsport. This is a great slot for me because Trident Motorsport has shown many times that it is one of the best places for a young driver to be in FIA Formula 3, and I intend to make the most of this opportunity while doing the best possible job for the team.
Fornaroli on the news.
We are delighted to confirm Leonardo Fornaroli in our FIA Formula 3 Championship lineup. For the Piacenza-born driver, it will be the third season with us and the confirmation of a positive collaboration that will have increasingly ambitious goals. In the past season, Fornaroli has been one of the best rookies of the series. He delivered a solid performance and consistent growth. The goal for him will be to raise the level and compete at the top of the series.
PREMA Racing have announced that Red Bull Junior, Arvid Lindblad will round out their line-up for the 2024 FIA Formula 3 campaign, joining returnees Dino Beganovic and Gabriele Mini at the Italian outfit.
Lindblad makes the step up off the back of a successful first full season in single-seaters. After finishing fifth in the F4 UAE Championship, the 16 year old took six wins, 10 podiums and two pole positions on his way to securing third in Italian F4 alongside claiming fourth in the Euro 4 Championship.
The British born racer, enjoyed plenty of success in karting, achieving the WSK Super Masters OK Junior in 2020 and followed that up with the WSK Euro Series title the next year. From there, he made his single-seater debut in 2022 with a three-round appearance in Italian F4 where he earned a best result of seventh, before partnering up with PREMA for the dual campaign this year.
Lindblad has already gotten his first taste of F3 machinery during the six days of post-season testing. Getting 414 laps under his belt, he netted four top 10 finishes, including the sixth-fastest time of the opening afternoon in Imola.
Super excited to be continuing with PREMA for 2024 in FIA Formula 3. We had a great year in Formula 4 together, leading and competing for both Championships for the whole season. PREMA has been very strong in F3 this year, and that’s why I’m really excited and honoured to have the opportunity to continue and move up the ranks with them. We had positive post-season tests together with good progression and steps made, and I can’t wait for the season to get started.
Lindblad on the news.
We were deeply impressed by Arvid this year, and we think he has the potential to succeed a Formula 3 level as well. We will work as hard as possible to ease his transition to such a challenging environment and allow him to be successful as soon as possible. Our driver line-up for 2024 is now complete, and I could not be happier with the team we put together.
Gabriele Mini will return for a second Formula 3 season in 2024, switching to reigning Teams’ Champions PREMA Racing.
A two-time race winner after scoring victories in the Monte Carlo Feature Race and Budapest Sprint, Mini rounded out his rookie campaign seventh in the Drivers’ Standings for Hitech Pulse-Eight.
Participating in the three two-day post-season tests with PREMA, the Alpine junior put together an impressive showing. The 18 year old topped the timing sheets across both days in Imola and earned a further three top two worthy times in Barcelona and Jerez.
Next season, Mini reunite with the team that helped take him to glory in Italian F4 in 2020. From there, the Italian racer finished seventh in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. Returning for a second campaign, he earned the runner-up honours, just behind eventual Champion and 2024 teammate Dino Beganovic.
I’m very happy to join PREMA Racing for the 2024 season. The team had a very strong season last year, and we had some very promising tests together at Jerez and Barcelona. Our only goal will be to fight for the title, and I cannot wait to hit the track and start the new season! I would like to thank the Alpine Academy and All Road Management for their strong support to make it happen.
Mini on the news.
We are really proud to have Gabriele back with us. We thoroughly enjoyed working with him back in 2020 and we are happy to do it again now. We are extremely delighted by how our 2024 line-up is coming together as we have proven winners with high potential and great experience on our side. We cannot wait for the new season to start, and we look forward to the preparation work ahead.
Dino Beganovic will be returning to Formula 3 with PREMA Racing, becoming the first driver announced for the 2024 campaign. The Swede made his F3 debut this year with the Italian team, finishing his maiden campaign in sixth in the Drivers’ championship.
The partnership between Beganovic and PREMA is a longstanding one, with the 19 year old having first raced for the team back in 2020 when he claimed P3 in Italian F4.
He continued with PREMA in 2020 and 2021, moving up to the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, achieving a P13 finish before winning the series in ’21 taking four victories and a further 10 podiums along the way.
In 2023, the Ferrari Academy junior, scored four podium finishes in F3 and a further six top 10 finishes. Beganovic said that he was pleased to a continuing with the team next year having achieved so much already in PREMA colours.
During post-season testing, Beganovic was the fastest driver at Jerez finishing the second day with a 1:29.900. He also ended the Barcelona test on top leading the afternoon session on Day 2.
I’m super happy to confirm that I’m staying for another year with my team, PREMA Racing, in Formula 3. It’s very nice to stay with the team as it will be our fifth year together. I cannot wait to continue the work we have done together throughout the years, starting from Formula 4. Our targets are clear and have been set high, but they are achievable. We will continue to focus on the testing sessions to prepare as much as possible for the first race next year.
Beganovic on the seat.
We always enjoyed working with Dino. He is a quick and knowledgeable driver and works really well in our team’s environment. With the experience gained this year, he will make his challenge even more solid and by what we saw so far in testing, there is great promise for sure. We are very happy to continue the path we started together in 2020, and we look forward to seeing what the future will bring.
Promoted to the reverse grid front row, Boya took full advantage with a lightning launch off the line to get the better off Colapinto for the lead.
The slightest of contact between Caio Collet and Aron on the run down to Turn 1 left the PREMA driver with a puncture. The Estonian spun and collected both Edgar and Marti.
In the battle for third, ART GP teammates Gregoire Saucy and Nikola Tsolov made contact, forcing the Bulgarian to defend from Taylor Barnard behind. The Jenzer driver managed to make it through to fourth as the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the opening lap.
Having dispatched of Tsolov, Bartoleto made his own move on the Australian ahead. With the benefit of DRS, the Trident driver went down the inside into Ascari for sixth. Oliver Goethe was on a charge from P22, clearing teammate Leonardo Fornaroli and Tsolov in one corner for eighth.
Colapinto took charge on lap 10, passing Boya for the lead into the first corner. Dueling over third, O’Sullivan and Saucy made contact out of Turn 1, leaving the Swiss driver with a puncture and falling down the order.
Out front, Colapinto brought home back-to-back Sprint Race victories at Monza. Bortoleto’s patience behind Boya paid off, as the Brazilian claimed second with a move into Turn 4 on the last lap.
Day 3, Feature Race-
Drama had already began to unfold before the 21 laps of racing had even got underway. Pole sitter, Oliver Goethe pulled off the grid reporting a broken throttle, leading to an extra formation lap.
Once the five lights went out, Collet covered off the inside to hold the lead, third-placed Paul Aron immediately tried to take advantage of the space in front but lost out to Edgar.
The Safety Car was deployed on the opening lap after Sprint Race winner, Franco Colapinto stopped on track after contact at Turn 5. After racing had resumed on lap 4, Edgar was back on the attack diving past Collet at Turn 1. Three-wide with Aron and O’Sullivan in the battle for third, Bortoleto went too deep and was forced to go down the escape road dropping down to P6.
Another off-track excursion for Brazilian at Turn 4 gave Nikola Tsolov the opportunity to attack, allowing Barnard and Mari Boya to also come through and demote Bortoleto to P9. Saucy tried the same but contact between the pair left the ART Grand Prix driver with a puncture sending him sailing off into the barriers.
The leading battles were fierce as Collet slid past Edgar to regain the lead on lap 12, whilst Barnard lunged at O’Sullivan to claim third through the first chicane. Undeterred, Edgar made full use of the slipstream, carrying enough overspeed to breeze past the Brazilian back up to the front of the field one lap later.
Another Safety Car interruption to running came after Sebastian Montoya got stuck in the gravel at Turn 5 having been tagged by Hitech Pulse-Eight teammate Gabriele Mini.
With a last lap shootout to overcome, Edgar went early to break clear on the restart. O’Sullivan was slow to react. Collet tried the switchback out of the Della Roggia chicane to take second but it was Barnard who made his move stick, swooping through on the Brazilian to secure the final podium spot which made it three Brits on the podium.
Oliver Goethe was straight back into action at Monza, going fastest of all in Free Practice with a 1:38.677. The Trident driver secured his lap just moments before a second session ending Red Flag, finishing just over a tenth clear of PREMA’s Paul Aron and Gabriele Mini for Hitech.
Rodin Carlin set the early benchmark with Oliver Gray putting in a 1:41.612 on his initial effort around the Temple of Speed.
As the 30 minute mark approached, the track got busier as queues of cars formed, all eager to get that all important slipstream. Home hero, Leonardo Fornaroli took charge, dipping into the 1:39s before Jenzer’s Taylor Barnard went over two tenths clear of the Trident.
The first Red Flag was brought out by Nikita Bedrin as the second Jenzer stopped on track. The clock continued to tick down and running resumed with 16 minutes left.
Gregoire Saucy took ART up into the top spot on the restart, clocking in a 1:39.276 to go eight thousandths faster than Fornaroli. Piecing together a perfect lap was far from easy.
Mini then broke into the 1:38s but the Hitech driver was immediately beaten by Goethe and Aron. The flurry proved to be the final attempts of the morning, as MP Motorsport’s Mari Boya spun off into the barriers at Turn 11 inside the final six minutes.
Qualifying-
Oliver Goethe secured his first pole position of the season at Monza for Trident confirming teammate Gabriel Bortoleto as the 2023 Formula 3 Drivers’ Champion in the process.
Running in the gap as one of two drivers on track after the second of three red flag appearances, the German driver posted a 1:38.909 to go less than a tenth clear of Van Amersfooort Racing’s Caio Collet and Paul Aron in third.
It was all about the waiting game in the early phase of running as everyone tried to avoid being the first to jump. Aron led a train of cars out on track at the green light but the field swiftly filtered back into the pits following installation laps.
Queues immediately formed around the track at the 23 minute mark. Situated right in the middle of a train of cars out of the Lesmo chicane, Ido Cohen was sent spinning after Rodin Carlin teammate Oliver Gray hit the rear of the car bringing out the first Red Flag.
Once running resumed, there was no time to waste. Hungry to keep his title hopes alive, Aron went fastest of all with a 1:39.043. The PREMA driver’s effort didn’t stay top for long, as Collet leapfrogged him into provisional pole but there was little to separate the top three with 0.054s covering Collet, Aron and Goethe.
The session was Red Flagged again seconds later, after a spin for Joshua Dufek left the Campos Racing driver stuck in the gravel trap at Variante della Roggia.
When the session resumed with 15 minutes left, Goethe and Bortoleto were the only two cars to gamble on a run without the benefit of a slipstream. It served well as Goethe managed to improve on his earlier effort to go top.
Opting for another attempt, the Trident driver went off into the barriers at Turn 7 with a third and final red flag deployed, nobody got an opportunity to improve as the session was not resumed. As Championship contenders, Aron and Josep Maria Marti were unable to secure the two points awarded for pole, Bortoleto’s job was done to claim the title.
FIA Formula 3 has announced the calendar for the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship. Next season includes 10 rounds, which all support the Formula One World Championship and the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
The 10 teams and 30 drivers will contest a total of 20 races, across three different continents, with no new tracks being added for next season.
F3’s sixth season will kick off again at the Bahrain International Circuit on February 29th – March 2nd and the season concludes in Monza, Italy on August 30th to September 1st.
Round
Date
Location
1
29th February – 2nd March
Sakhir, Bahrain
2
22nd – 24th March
Melbourne, Australia
3
17th – 19th May
Imola, Italy
4
23rd – 26th May
Monte Carlo, Monaco
5
21st – 23rd June
Barcelona, Spain
6
28th – 30th June
Spielberg, Austria
7
5th – 7th July
Silverstone, Great Britain
8
19th – 21st July
Budapest, Hungary
9
26th – 28th July
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
10
30th August – 1st September
Monza, Italy
We are all excited to announce the 2024 Formula 3 calendar that brings huge anticipation and excitement after an already thrilling season this year. The intensity on the track is delighting all our fans and once again shows the talent in the system and the pipeline we have for the future. I want to thank the FIA, Bruno, his team and all the competitors for the incredible job they do and also pay tribute to our longstanding partners Dallara, Mechachrome and Pirelli for their continued support of the series. We are all looking forward to the rest of the season and an exciting 2024.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of F1.
The FIA junior single-seater categories are of vital importance to the success of motor sport at the very highest levels, and for the young drivers to develop on the global platform of Formula 1 is without doubt the right pathway. The calendar that we are very pleased to confirm today provides a broad range of circuits, including some of the most challenging and iconic racing venues anywhere in the world, on which the potential stars of the future will give the drivers the best possible preparation for the next step up the ladder to the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
In 2023, we introduced two new circuits – Melbourne and Monte Carlo – which held extremely successful events for Formula 3. I am very pleased to include them again in the 2024 calendar. We will have 10 rounds, across 3 continents, starting in Sakhir and ending in Monza, all events running alongside Formula 1. In a matter of five years, the FIA Formula Championship 3 has become a decisive category that features the best up-and-coming talents on their way to the top steps of motorsport.
In his first front row start of Formula 3, Nikita Bedrin didn’t let inexperience fail him, as he nailed his getaway and gave him the run he need to swoop around the outside and take the lead out of Turn 1.
Bortoleto tried to execute the same move on Mansell for third, but the Trident driver couldn’t keep it within the white lines, going across the run-off.
Further back on the grid, Tommy Smith and Sebastian Montoya made contact on the opening lap, with Van Amersfoort Racing driver pitched into the air and across the gravel.
Having been waiting for a time to make the right move, Bortoleto pounced for third on lap 7. Utilising the DRS, the Trident driver sailed from a long way back down the inside of the Campos at Turn 1. Aron tried to do the same two laps later, with a great run out of the final corner but couldn’t make the late move stick and ended up running wide.
Attempting to find his way through on Tsolov, O’Sullivan tried moves left, right and centre as the Bulgarian driver got his elbows out to defend eighth. Looking up at the apex, the PREMA car tagged the rear of the ART forcing O’Sullivan to box.
Montoya came to a halt between Turns 12 and 13, which triggered a Virtual Safety Car which was quickly converted into a full Safety Car.
Once racing resumed on lap 17 the field faced a three-lap sprint to the line. Aron instantly forced Mansell onto the defensive for fourth position, having been unable to get past at Turn 1, the Estonian got the job done around the outside of Turn 3.
The full top 10 are- P1: Mini, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Bedrin, P4: Aron, P5: Goethe, P6: Mansell, P7: Colapinto, P8: Edgar, P9: Saucy and P10: Beganovic.
Day 3-
O’Sullivan wasted no time breaking clear out front, as he bolted off the line to cover off his teammate Beganovic on the run down into Turn 1.
Oliver Goethe tried to swoop around the outside of Colapinto, but the MP Motorsport driver fought back to cling on to fourth. Having lost P6 off the line, Paul Aron muscled his way past Jonny Edgar through Turn 3.
After a disappointing Qualifying, Josep Maria Marti was on a redemption charge from 13th on the grid. The Spanish driver moved up into the points, where he quickly dispatched his teammate Mansell along with Edgar on Lap 8 to move into 8th position.
Championship rivals Bortoleto and Marti squared off against each other for seventh. The Campos car tried to pass the Brazilian at Turn 1, but a huge lock-up sent him sailing wide across the run-off area.
Edgar began hounding Mansell at the tail end of the points. Mansell suffered a lock up into Turn 1 on Lap 18, allowing the Briton to breeze through, with his MP teammate Mari Boya taking advantage to demote him out of the top 10.
The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullvian, P2: Beagnovic, P3: Colapinto, P4: Goethe, P5: Aron, P6: Marti, P7: Bortoleto, P8: Edgar, P9: Fornaroli and P10: Boya.
Not long to wait until round 9 as it’s this week! We only have two rounds remaining of the Formula 3 2023 Championship, who will be our new champion?…
Zak O’Sullivan was the driver to beat in the opening Free Practice session in Budapest. The PREMA Racing driver clocked in a 1:32.701 to take the top spot during the first half of the session.
Mari Boya started MP Motorsport weekend strong in second, three-tenths off the #3 car and Paul Aron secured third moments before the session ended early due to a red flag.
On his debut at the Hungaroring, Max Esterson took advantage of every opportunity to learn the track. Setting the initial time to beat with a 1:35.804s.
Williams Academy junior, Luke Browning took the lead with a 1:33.726 putting the Hitech Pulse Eight car 0.792s clear of Nikola Tsolov. Jenzer Motorsport’s Nikita Bedrin joined Browning inside the 1:33s as the remained of the field slowly peeled out of the pits.
PREMA Racing assumed the top of the timing sheets. Dino Beganovic went fastest with a 1:33.186 which was immediately beaten by O’Sullivan’s 1:32.702 and Aron joined his teammates inside the top three.
Rafael Villagomez brought out the Red Flag with six minutes remaining, the Van Amersfoort driver spun and crashed into the barriers at Turns 11 and 12.
Qualifying-
PREMA Racing’s Zak O’Sullivan stormed his way to his second FIA Formula 3 pole position and secured his and the Italian squad’s first pole position of the 2023 season.
Dino Beganovic couldn’t quite get close enough to his teammate’s 1:31.091 and had to settle for second, 0.403s off the Briton’s pace. Leonardo Fornaroli led Trident’s charge as he secured third.
After a dry and humid free practice, conditions changed for Qualifying and the field faced a slippery albeit drying Hungaroring. With drivers getting in banker laps early, with Fornaroli setting the early pace.
The red flag brought the session to a pause with 22 minutes on the clock. Oliver Gray got caught out around the slippery track, hitting the barriers out of Turn 3 but managed to crawl his way back to the pitlane.
As the clocked ticked down, so did the lap times. Hugh Barter went quickest momentarily with a 1:33.784, before Boya, Mini and Mansell all found even more margin out front.
O’Sullivan responded, going fastest in all three sectors to lay down a 1:31.091 with four minutes to go. As the medium tyres faded away, few could improve and the Williams junior’s time remained untouchable.
The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullivan, P2: Beganovic, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Colapinto, P5: Goethe, P6: Aron, P7: Tsolov, P8: Edgar, P9: Bortoleto and P10: Mansell.
As rain began to fall before lights out, all bar Gregoire Saucy started on slicks. Pole sitter Sebastian Montoya kept the lead from pole, while Taylor Barnard surged up to second as he passed Jonny Edgar around the outside of Turn 1.
Colapinto then passed both in one move, diving down the inside at Village to go from fourth to second. A scruffy run through Maggotts and Becketts allowed Barnard to slot back into second.
With DRS enabled, Bortoleto was able to put pressure on Mini ahead in fifth position, the Brazilian driver was through on the Hitech driver as he forced a lock-up from the Italian driver into the Vale Chicane.
The heavy rain arrived on lap 8 and the Safety Car was deployed with all the drivers running slick tyres. Dino Beganovic took the opportunity to pit for wet tyres whilst the rest of the grid remained on track.
With positions one to 10 still on dry tyres and those behind on wets, the Safety Car was withdrawn entering lap 13, with Barnard right on the rear wing of Montoya, the pair made contact at Turn 1.
After his spin, Montoya was back into the points and eighth, as he passed both of the PREMAs down the Hangar Straight with three laps to go.
The full top 10 are- P1: Colapinto, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Mansell, P4: Collet, P5: Mini, P6: Barter, P7: Fornaroli, P8: Montoya, P9: Cohen and P10: Marti.
Day 3-
Fornaroli covered off his teammate to retain the lead into Turn 1 while Gabriel Bortoleto made immediate progress up to fourth position, going around the outside of Mansell into Turn 3.
Further ahead, Marti cleared Goethe to take second position, albeit briefly. The Trident driver was able to retake the place with a great pass around the outside of Stowe later on.
Luke Browning made contact with Hugh Barter out of the final corner, leaving the Hitech driver with a broken suspension. It resulted in his retirement from the race and brought out the Safety Car. Edgar was also out of his home event on lap 1 after contact with Collet on the opening lap.
On lap 17, rain began to fall and Robert Faria went off into the barriers at Woodcote. He was out of the car ok and the Safety Car came back out. As the rain intensified, Tommy Smith was the only taker for wet tyres with three laps remaining, rejoining in 28th position.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Collet was able to make great progress despite running the slick hard tyres, taking multiple positions on the penultimate lap to rise up to the points positions. Teammate Smith was able to take full advantage of conditions on the wets, going from 28th to 12th in the space of a lap and a half.
The full top 10 are- P1: Goethe, P2: Fornaroli, P3: Marti, P4: Aron, P5: Mansell, P6: Bortoleto, P7: Mini, P8: Colapinto, P9: Saucy and P10: Montoya.
Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning started his and his team’s home event in fine form, setting a 1:45.794 to lead the way in Free Practice.
With the Championship leader, Gabriel Bortoleto following closely in second position and Dino Beganovic in third making him the highest-placed PREMA driver.
Sebastian Montoya got the weekend rolling with a 1:48.957 and the initial time to beat. Leonardo Fornaroli and then Franco Colapinto quickly beating that.
There was contact between Kaylen Frederick and Zak O’Sullivan at Turn 16 as traffic began to build up and drivers searched for clean air. The Briton was able to continue in the session, but the ART Grand Prix driver was out after sustaining suspension damage and recovering to the pitlane.
Browning continued to lap quickly, lowering his best time to a 1:45.946 before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed to recover debris left by the earlier contact.
Back to green flag conditions with 12 minutes left, and there were very few improvements as Bortoleto moved himself up to second on a 1:46.075s.
Qualifying-
Leonardo Fornaroli headed up a Trident 1-2 around Silverstone, taking his maiden Formula 3 pole position with a 1:45.520.
Fornaroli’s teammate, Oliver Goethe followed in second after making a late improvement, whilst Josep Maria Marti led the Campos Racing effort in third.
Gabriele Mini set the early pace with a 1:46.619 which was swiftly beaten by teammate Luke Browning. The Tridents of Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Goethe crossed the line to split the two Hitech drivers, with the top three covered by just 0.120s.
The track filled up once more after a swap to fresh tyres with less than 10 minutes remaining of Qualifying.
Mini, Browning and Aron each improved on their next efforts but only the Estonian driver got to within a quarter of a second of Fornaroli’s provisional pole time.
The full top 10 are- P1: Fornaroli, P2: Goethe, P3: Marti, P4: Mansell, P5: Bortoleto, P6: Aron, P7: Mini, P8: Browning, P9: Colapinto and P10: Barnard.
Marti retained his lead off the line, but Oliver Goethe didn’t pull away cleanly as he dropped down from fourth to 27th, where as Aron was flying and got up to third by the end of the first lap.
On Lap 2, Trident’s Gabriel Bortoleto dropped down to 14th having been in ninth after a slow exit out of Turn 3 but the Brazilian was quick to start his fightback, taking 13th from Mari Boya and then 12th from Dino Beganovic.
The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 11 after contact between Oliver Gray and Rafael Villagomez at Turn 4. The VAR driver was spun around following contact with the Rodin Carlin car, where the Brit had nowhere to go to avoid him.
Aron had closed on Marti gradually lap after lap following the restart and on Lap 18, he cleared the Spanish driver into Turn3 3, fending off Mini in the process who’d put them all three-wide entering the corner.
Collet dived to the inside of Marti at the final corner on the penultimate lap to move himself into third, and O’Sullivan capitalised on his lost momentum to pass Marti for fourth.
The full top 10 are- P1: Aron, P2: Mini, P3: Collet, P4: O’Sullivan, P5: Edgar, P6: Marti, P7: Frederick, P8: Beganovic, P9: Montoya and P10: Bortoleto.
Day 3-
Gregoire Saucy held onto pole from lights out whilst Bortoleto had to fend off pressure from Paul Aron to keep hold of third. Further back, Gabriele Mini had slight contact with Luke Browning at Turn 4. The Hitech driver was sent across the gravel and was left out the race, which prompted a safety car on lap 2.
Racing got back underway entering Lap 5 with Saucy able to build up a small gap to Dino Beganovic behind him. The ART driver couldn’t escape the one-second DRS window though, and the Swede was through for P1 on Lap 7 under breaking at Turn 4.
Aron made a late dive down the inside of Bortoleto at Turn 3 to take third position on Lap 10. One lap later he tried the same on Saucy but had no room to make it stick.
In the fight for the lead, Bortoleto was able to slipstream his way past Beganovic for P1 into Turn 4 on Lap 13, while Aron was finally forced to out for a new front wing due to contact.
Further back, Caio Collet and Sebastian Montoya made progress up the top 10, passing Kaylen Frederick to take fifth and sixth places.
The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullivan, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Collet, P4: Colapinto, P5: Beganovic, P6: Edgar, P7: Mansell, P8: Barter, P9: Marti and P10: Fornaroli.
Gabriel Bortoleto hit the ground running in Spielberg, setting the track record with a 1:19.410 to top the free practice session for Trident.
The Brazilian driver was 0.148s quicker than Jenzer Motorsport’s Taylor Barnad, while Gabriele Mini left it late to take third for Hitech Pulse-Eight.
Once the tyre preparation laps were complete, Paul Aron set the initial benchmark to beat with a 1:21.998 on his first effort. The Estonian’s 1:21.205 was three-tenths quicker than PREMA Racing teammate Dino Beganovic, who had a heart-in-mouth moment shortly after.
With just over 16 minutes remaining the red flags were out after Sebastian Montoya beached his Hitech car in the gravel trap on the outside of Turn 7.
Once the session resumed with 12 minutes remaining, everyone returned to the track. ART Grand Prix’s Saucy was the first in the queue with prime track position and set a 1:20.306 for the rest to beat.
Qualifying-
ART Grand Prix’s Gregoire Saucy secured his first Formula 3 pole position in Spielberg after a dramatic qualifying session around the Red Bull Ring. PREMA Racing’s Paul Aron had ended the session fastest of all but dropped to P4 after exceeding track limits.
His demotion moved Saucy up into P1 and PREMA teammate Dino Beganovic onto the front row. While Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto secured third place in his Trudent.
With patches of rain on the weather radars, everyone was out immediately at the green light. Caio Collet led the way as the rest jostled for Track position and the Van Amersfoort driver set the first time to beat.
With 15 minutes gone, Beganovic headed up Aron, Gabriel Bortoleto, Josep Maria Marti and Gabriele Mini in the top five. After everyone returned to the pits to fit a fresh set of the soft Pirelli tyres, the track was busy once again with under 10 minutes remaining.
There were improvements throughout the field, but nobody could leap ahead of either PREMA driver prior to the final two minutes of the session.
The full top 10 are: P1: Saucy, P2: Beganovic, P3: Bortoleto, P4: Aron, P5: Collet, P6: O’Sullivan, P7: Colapinto, P8: Goethe, P9: Frederick and P10: Mansell.
Reverse pole sitter, O’Sullivan instantly defended the inside line, giving compatriot Browning a slip stream down into Tyrn 1. Despite that, Browning had to yield to his fellow Williams junior on the exit of Turn 2.
A fast starting Paul Aron rocketed up from P8 to P5 by the time the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the opening lap after Rodin Carlin’s Ido Cohen found the barriers at Turn 9.
Racing resumed on Lap 5 and O’Sullivan bolted away early through Turn 12, allowing him to pull clear from Browning. After qualifying down in P18, Gabriele Mini was on the charge, the Alpine junior was brave on the brakes, diving past Christian Mansell through Turn 7 for 12th.
Running in P4, Saucy ran wide out of the final corner, opening the door for Aron to get through. Unable to fight back out of Turn 1, the ART Grand Prix driver was left vulnerable to those behind and lost places to both Sebastian Montoya and Gabriel Bortoleto, dropping to seventh.
Mini and Mansell’s earlier battle reignited on Lap 16, but this time the pair made contact. It sent Mansell spinning off at Turn 2 to bring out a second Safety Car. Mini was then awarded a 10 second time penalty for the collision.
The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullivan, P2: Browning, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Bortoleto, P5: Aron, P6: Colapinto, P7: Boya, P8: Marti, P9: Saucy and P10: Barnard.
Day 3-
Despite getting a strong launch from pole, Marti was forced to immediately dive to the inside to cover off Taylor Barnard. Making an impression on his first front row start and benefiting from the slip stream.
After scoring his maiden podium in the Sprint Race, Luke Browning’s race came to an early end on the opening lap. Contact with Leonardo Fornaroli down into Turn 4 left the Hitech Pulse-Eight pulling up with broken suspension to bring out the Safety Car.
Marti opten to make the jump early on Lap 7, trying to pull away from Barnard through Turn 12. The Briton was all over the Campos just after the restart but couldn’t sustain the pace and dropped out of DRS range by lap 10.
In the battle for the final points, Sprint Race winner Zak O’Sullivan made an ambitious overtake attempt on Oliver Goethe around the outside of Turn 13. It put the pair three-wide with Gregoire Saucy on the start of lap 19.
The full top 10 are- P1: Marti, P2: Colapinto, P3: Beganovic, P4: Bortoleto, P5: Aron, P6: Boya, P7: Montoya, P8: O’Sullivan, P9: Barnard and P10: Mansell.
Unfortunately Formula 3 is not back until July… we will be returning for Round 6 in Spielberg, Austria on the 30th June to 2nd July.
Taylor Barnard took the top spot in Free Practice in Barcelona. After most opted to remain in the pitlane early on, the Jenzer Motorsport driver set a 1:28.831 to lead the way before a late red flag disrupted his rivals attempts to improve.
With only a third of the running remaining, representative times began to be set. Luke Browning got his first attempt on the board with a 1:30.181, which was immediately bettered by teammate Sebastian Montoya with a 1:29.241.
Barnard then put Jenzer Motorsport to the top of the timing sheets, breaking into the 1:28s to lead Caio Collet by 0.020s and edge a tenth ahead of fellow rookie Dino Beganovic.
Turn 9’s fast nature proved to be a challenging point for several drivers. Piotr Wisnicki was the first Red Flag of the weekend, spinning off into the gravel at the top of the hill.
Qualifying-
Josep Maria Marti gave the Spanish fans plenty to celebrate already this weekend as he secured his maiden Formula 3 pole position on home soil.
The Campos Racing driver’s 1:27.587 beat Jenzer Motorsport’s Taylor Barnard and Franco Colapinto from MP Motorsport by two and a half tenths.
Keeping things neat and tidy, Leonardo Fornaroli briefly bagged the fastest lap, but Paul Aron quickly shot up into P1 with a 1:28.369 going over a tenth quicker than the Trident driver.
With banker laps in the bag, drivers peeled into pits to change on to a fresh set of hard tyres and returned to the track with 18 minutes remaining.
The full top 10 are: P1: Marti, P2: Barnard, P3: Colapinto, P4: Beganovic, P5: Aron, P6: Bortoleto, P7: Montoya, P8: Boya, P9: Fornaroli and P10: Saucy.
Marti maintained the lead off the line to break away from Fornaroli, who found himself forced to go on the defensive from Taylor Barnard.
The Safety Car was deployed on the first lap following contact into the opening corners at Sainte Devote where Jonny Edgar got sent into the barriers. His MP Motorsport teammate Mari Boya also suffered Turn 1 contact, resulting in retirement also.
Out front, Marti looked untroubled, steadily building his advantage lap-by-lap. The Spaniard pulled over five seconds clear in six laps through the middle phase of the race. This left Fornaroli driving on his mirrors as Saucy closed up to the back of him, with Colapinto staying close to the Swiss driver also.
As the chequered flag flew, Marti secured victory by an impressive 8.1s margin to Fornaroli with Saucy third. Colapinto made up one place to take fourth as Barnard added more points to his rookie tally with his best ever finish in fifth.
Bortoleto hold on to sixth ahead of the HiTech Pulse-Eight duo of Montoya and Browning. Collect earned two points in ninth and Aron rounded out the top 10.
Day 4-
After earning his first Formula 3 podium in the Sprint Race, Leonardo Fornaroli didn’t get the chance to bring home more points again after the Trident driver stalled on the grid on the formation lap.
When the five lights went out, Mini got a decent launch off the line to keep Beganovic behind. Fifth placed Collet immediately tried to put the pressure on Browning, but the Van Amersfoort Racing driver had to ease off as he ran out of tarmac.
Ido Cohen lost his Rodin Carlin on entry to Turn 12, whilst battling with his teammate Oliver Gray and ended up in the barriers, triggering the Safety Car.
Sebastian Montoya’s attempts at shaping for a move on Collet for fifth ended in heartbreak for both. With the Brazilian suffering from tyre degradation, the Red Bull Junior had great traction out of Turn 1 but made contact with Collet’s rear left tyre on the run up the hill.
The final stages saw Beganovic pull back into Mini’s one second DRS window, but there was nothing the Swede could do to stop him holding on to claim a maiden victory.
Despite Browning closing to within three tenths on the final lap, Aron managed to secure his second F3 podium. Bortoleto strengthened his hold on the Championship lead in fifth ahead of Colapinto and Zak O’Sullivan. Barnard’s penalty demoted him to eighth ahead of Marti and Greogoire Saucy, who rounded out the top 10.
Gabriele Mini made the most of a drying Monte Carlo circuit to head the field in Formula 3’s first session around the Principality. The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver put his previous experience to good use, clocking in a 1:26.686 in the final jam packed seconds of Free Practice.
Fellow returnees, Franco Colapinto and Gregoire Saucy benefited from a late switch to the slicks to round out the top three.
Before the session started, a heavy downpour threw a curveball the drivers’ way, making the challenge of learning the Monaco streets even more difficult. Campos Racing’s Christian Mansell was the first to get a representative time on the board, but they continued to tumble with every lap of the 3.337km circuit.
Although a dry line had begun to form, there were still plenty of areas to catch the field out. Browning brought the time to beat down to a 1:39.879 before the Red Flag appeared, a spin for Jonny Edgar left the British racer facing the wrong way and in need of recovery.
Day 2-
For the Championship’s first appearance in the Principality, the 30 car grid was divided into two groups with 16 minutes each. Group A consists of even-numbered cars and Group B the odd.
Gabriele Mini put together a masterclass to claim his second pole position of his rookie Formula 3 season. Waiting until the last second of Group B, the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver wrestled pole away from Group A’s Dino Beganovic by over six tenths.
The full top 10 for Sunday’s Feature race are: P1: Mini, P2: Beganovic, P3: Aron, P4: Browning, P5: Collet, P6: Montoya, P7: Bortoleto, P8: Colapinto, P9: Barnard and P10: Fornaroli.
Williams Racing has announced that British racer, Luke Browning has joined the team’s Driver Academy.
Following on from the signing of Franco Colapinto earlier this year, Williams have bolstered their Driver Academy by signing the Formula 3 racer.
The 21 year old, is currently racing in F3 with Hitech Pulse-Eight squad and has scored 14 points from the first two round in Bahrain and in Australia.
Browning has been signed after he won the GB3 Championship in 2022, scoring five wins and a further eight podiums while race with Hitech. He also won the 2022 Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.
His signing means the Williams Driver Academy now consists of five members – four of whom are currently racing in Formula 3.
Browning is set to work on the Williams simulator in Grove throughout the year, taking part in a personalised programme, as well as embedding with the team trackside at select race weekends.
I’m really looking forward to being a part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy. A huge thank you to everyone at the team for the opportunity to shoot for the stars. To be welcomed into the family is a dream come true, the heritage of this team is phenomenal. I can’t wait to see where we can go, our journey starts here.
Browning on the signing.
We’re pleased to have Luke join the Driver Academy. He’s a highly talented driver with several major achievements already under his belt, including the 2022 Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, the 2022 GB3 Championship, and the 2020 British F4 Championship. Everyone at Williams Racing is looking forward to working closely with Luke throughout the year as he competes in FIA Formula 3 with Hitech Pulse-Eight. He’ll have the opportunity to develop his abilities while providing useful feedback through simulator work at Grove.
Franco Colapinto was victorious in an event-filled Sprint Race, winning from P6 on the grid. The MP Motorsport driver put an impressive move on pole-sitter Sebastian Montoya at Turn 9 to take the lead early on.
Zak O’Sullivan made a late-race pass on reverse pole-sitter Montoya to take second. The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver held on for a podium in third as the race ended under the Safety Car.
But after the race was complete, Franco Colapinto lost the Melbourne Sprint Race victory following a post-race inspection found a technical infringement on his car.
Pieces of bodywork were found to be outside of the regulatory limits, contravening Articles 1.2 and 2.5 of the Technical Regulations. Modifications to the geometry of the parts in question are prohibited by the rules outside of basic repairs.
MP Motorsport drivers, Mari Boya and Jonny Edgar have also been disqualified from the race for the same technical infringement as was found on Colapinto’s car.
It means that PREMA Racing’s Zak O’Sullivan inherits the victory, promoting Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Sebastian Montoya to 2nd and Paul Aron to 3rd.
The full top 10 after the disqualifications are: P1: Sullivan, P2: Montoya, P3: Aron, P4: Mini, P5: Beganovic, P6: Bortoleto, P7: Fornaroli, P8: Saucy, P9: Mansell and P10: Frederick.
Day 3-
Gabriel Bortoleto made it two Feature Race wins in Formula 3 out of two, keeping Gregoire Saucy at bay for his second victory of the year. The Trident driver led every lap from pole position, leading through two safety car restarts in what was a measured performance.
Saucy was on the podium for ART Grand Prix for the first time this season in second, finishing just 0.5s down on the winner. Gabriele Mini was third for HiTech Pulse-Eight.
On Lap 2, Franco Colapinto claimed seventh from Luke Browning on the run to Turn 3 but his joy was short-lived. The MP Motorsport driver made brief contact with the Brit completing the move and sustained a puncture, which sent him into the barriers at Turn 5 and out of the race.
Josep Maria Marti was on a charge, he went from 30th to 21st on the first lap alone and he was battling Campos Racing teammate Mansell for 12th.
Contact between Ido Cohen and Rafael Villagomez out of Turn 4 the following lap spun the Rodin Carlin man into the barriers, bringing out the Safety Car once more. The Van Amersfoort Racing man was handed a 10 second time penalty for the incident.
Once we went back to racing conditions on Lap 16 and Marti was on the move again clearing Goethe into Turn 4 to take 11th position, that then became 10th on Lap 18 after he put a brave move on Jonny Edgar going around the outside at Turn 9.
The full top 10 are: P1: Bortoleto, P2: Saucy, P3: Mini, P4: Fornaroli, P5: Sullivan, P6: Aron, P7: Marti, P8: Browning, P9: Barnard and P10: Mansell.
Formula 3 is not back now until the 19th to 21st May for Round 3 in Imola. However they do have in-season testing on the 13-14th April in Barcelona.
Formula 3, is in Australia for the very first time. Let’s take a look at how Day 1 went.
Free Practice-
Zak O’Sullivn hit the ground running in Melbourne, topping the opening session of the weekend for PREMA Racing, the Brit set a 1:33,470 at the end of the session.
MP Motorsport’s Mari Boya, leapt up the timing sheets late on with a 1:33.528 putting him second ahead of Gregoire Saucy, who bounced back from an off-track moment.
Saucy had an off-road excursion at Turn 4, running through the gravel on corner exit before rejoining in his ART Grand Prix car. The red flag was out with just over half an hour remaining following a crash for Jonny Edgar.
Practice resumed with 20 minutes of the session to go. A brief yellow flag for Campos Racing’s Hugh Barter was thrown at the final corner after he ended up sideways.
Qualifying-
Gabriel Bortoleto left it as late as possible to take pole for the FIA Formula 3 Feature Race. The Trident driver had been on provisional pole until several late efforts demoted him, but the Brazilian rebounded to seal P1 on his final attempt.
Gregoire Saucy ended up second for ART Grand Prix, while Gabriele Mini had to settle for third in his HiTech Pulse-Eight car.
With all 30 cars out of the pitlane, it was a busy Albert Park Circuit but only temporarily. A shunt for Josep Maria Marti brought out the red flags with six minutes gone.
The second red flag of the session came with four and a half minutes to go. ART Grand Prix’s Kaylen Frederick hit the wall out of the corner, but the American was okay afterwards. Back to green and with time for one final attempt, everyone was immediately back out for one final attempt.
Josep Maria Marti bided his time well to make a move stick on reverse pole sitter, Franco Colapinto as he took home glory in the first sprint race of the season, claiming his maiden victory in the Championship.
A frenetic opening race to the year as the Campos Racing driver kept close to the Argentian early on, as the field navigated two Safety car restarts.
After battling with Marti over second during the opening stages, Caio Collet kept himself out of trouble in the rest of the race to take home P3.
The first safety car was due to Rafael Villagomez battling Gabriel Bortoleto, as they made contact pitching the Van Amersfoort car into the wall.
The time behind the Safety Car meant that tyre degradation was less of a concern. PREMA’s Aron and Dino Beganovic continued to chop and change in the battle for fourth.
Day 3-
Gabriel Bortoleto brought home his first Formula 3 victory on his debut weekend in the Championship, meanwhile a time penalty and late Safety Car appearance relegated pole-sitter Gabriele Mini to eighth.
Starting second on the grid, Bortoleto assumed the lead early on, before fellow rookie Mini dispatched for him for the lead on Lap 10.
Keeping within touching distance of the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver, the Trident was in a prime position to benefit when the Safety Car bunched the field back together and was promoted to the win.
Oliver Goethe ensured a strong haul of points for Trident, taking his maiden podium in second, whilst Dino Beganovic showed what he was made off getting his elbows out to slice his way through to third.
The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 7 following contact at the hairpin between MP’s Mari Boya and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Tommy Smith. The Australian resumed but Boya was forced to pull off track and retire.
Round 1 is here, and we have had cars back on track finally! So here is a round up from all the action on Day 1.
Practice-
Gabriel Bortoleto began his Formula 3 campaign in fine form as he topped the timing sheets in the opening Free Practice session in Sakhir.
The Brazilian looked at home in his Trident car as he set a 1:47.775 to go 0.075s clear of Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Gabriele Mini – an all rookie top two.
As the clock approached 23 minutes, a flurry of cars headed out of the pits to put their times on times on the board, which saw Bortoleto for a swift moment become the driver to beat ahead of Mini.
The top three from qualifying are: P1: Gabriel Bortoleto, P2: Grabiele Mini and P3: Gregoire Saucy, one thing to keep an eye on is track evolution as its expected to be a major factor in Qualifying.
Qualifying-
Gabriele Mini began his F3 career in fashion as he stormed to his first pole position of his championship debut. The HiTech Pule-Eight driver’s late effort of 1:47.055 couldn’t be matched as less than half a second separated the top 17 runners.
It was clear the field were pushing to the limit as Bortoleto took to the top spot however he became the first of many drivers to fall foul of track limits.
Times continued to tumble, as Mini launched himself half a second clear of Collet. Laying down a 1:47.118, then with three minutes remaining the Alpine junior delivered another lap which was a 1:47.055.
The order then continued to change, as the trio of PREMA cars rose up into the top six. And Bortoleto being a man on a mission to then launch himself up into second after the track limits violation.
The top three were: P1: Gabriele Mini, P2: Gabriel Bortoleto, P3: Gregoire Saucy. But looking toward the sprint race, Williams junior, Franco Colapinto grabs reverse grid pole as he qualified 12th.
HiTech Pulse-Eight have confirmed Luke Browning will complete the team’s 2023 line-up. The Brit joins Sebastian Montoya and Gabriele Mini.
He steps up to FIA Formula 3 following a successful season that culminated in his winning of the 2022 GB3 Championship. He claimed five victories on the way to the title as well as winning the BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.
Browning made his racing debut in saloon car racing before moving to British F4 in 2019. His second season in the Championship brought title success, taking six poles, seven wins and 16 podiums in total.
A full GB3 campaign followed in 2022, he claimed the title with Hitech. Moving to FIA F3 with the same team, the 21 year old says that the continuity will help him hit the ground running in Bahrain.
I’m excited to announce I’ll be taking the step up to FIA Formula 3 with Hitech. We had a fantastic season in GB3 last year. These past 12 months I have really developed as a driver with their guidance and professionalism. I am very thankful to the people who continuously believe in me and have made this possible. I am under no illusions how competitive FIA F3 is and stepping into the car for the first time in February will be a steep learning curve before we head to Bahrain. I feel confident with everyone at Hitech that I can hit the ground running!
Browning on his new seat.
We are delighted to welcome Luke to our team in FIA Formula 3. We had a fantastic year with him in GB3, securing the driver’s title with five wins, and we are confident his experience will be of great value to the team.
Morning– Everyone was out of the garages immediately, but it was Tommy Smith who was the first to put a laptime on the board for VAR, with the Australian’s 1:51.521 was the only time on the board in the opening hour.
With just over half an hour remaining, the track began to fill up. Nikita Bedrin was the first beneath the 1:50s, but plenty followed. Gregoire Saucy managed to better the Jenzer Motorsport driver’s time, beating it fractionally with a 1:51.155.
Luke Browning was the busiest driver of the session, logging 29 laps in the Hitech Pulse Eight.
The top three are: P1: Gregoire Saucy, ART Grand Prix, P2: Taylor Barnard, Jenzer Motorsport, P3: Zak O’Sullivan, PREMA Racing.
Afternoon– A much faster start to the afternoon followed, with all teams bar Hitech Pulse-Eight immediately out on track. Gabriel Bortoleto set the early pace on a 1:49.366. It put him 0.241s ahead of Collet in P2.
With just under an hour and a half remaining, Gabriele Mini went fastest and then beat his own time to go onto a 1:48.453.
PREMA made a leap up on the table as the grid entered the final 45 minutes of running, Paul Aron closed to within 0.033s of Mini’s table-topping time before going P1 with a 1:47.889.
Saucy lowered the time to beat to a 1:47,563 inside the final 10 minutes as plenty of personal best times filtered through, but the ART driver remained fastest to the chequered flag.
The top three are: P1: Gregoire Saucy, ART Grand Prix, P2: Paul Aron, PREMA Racing, P3: Josep Maria Marti, Campos Racing.
Day 2-
Morning– Sophia Florsch led the way out of the garages for the morning session. Gabriele Bortoleto put in a 1:47.808 to go quickest in the opening minutes. Gregoire Saucy slotted in two-tenths behind and Taylor Barnard third.
The ART Grand Prix driver didn’t take long to retake the top spot with a 1:46.697. But with an hour and a half to go, the only red flag of the morning session after Alejandro Garcia stopped on track at Turn 6.
Once the track went back to green, Dino Beganovic, Grabiele Mini and Bortoleto could hardly be split in second, third and fourth places respectively.
The top three are: P1: Gregoire Saucy ART Grand Prix, P2: Dino Beganovic PREMA Racing, P3: Gabriele Mini Hitech Pulse-Eight.
Afternoon– Hunter Yeany led the way for the afternoon running, as Josep Maria Marti topped the timing sheets early on. The second red flag of the day was shown, due to Saucy stopping out on track but the session was soon underway.
Marti broke into the 1:49s to extend his advantage at the top, before a second red flag of the session was for Oliver Gray. The session then went back to green with an hour 45 minutes remaining.
Times began to improve once more as the sun began to set, with Bortoleto returning to the top of the timing screens with a 1:48.388. Mini then moved back into P1 with just over half an hour left, with teammate Sebastian Montoya joining him in second.
The top three are: P1: Gabriele Mini Hitech Pulse-Eight, P2: Gregoire Saucy ART Grand Prix, P3: Sebastian Montoya Hitech Pule-Eight.
Day 3-
The extended session got underway with Rafael Villagomez taking the top spot in the early laps, but it didn’t take long for Saucy to return to the summit.
Bortoleto was next to take over P1, going just under a tenth clear of Saucy with a 1:47.417 less than an hour gone. Paul Aron moved PREMA Racing inside the top three as the first hour elapsed. Hugh Barter and Dino Beganovic were spearated by 0.004s in fourth and fifth.
Approaching the halfway stage of the final day, ART Grand Prix kept their drivers busiest, logging over 80 laps. Saucy remained second ahead of Kaylen Frederick and Nikola Tsolov, ninth and 10th respectively.
Race runs became the focus for everyone, with the grid logging the mileage on multiple lap runs. It continued that way as the clock ticked into the final hour. Caio Collet broke the 50 lap barrier first, with 30 minutes remaining.
The top 3 are: P1: Gabriel Bortoleto Trident, P2: Gabriele Mini Hitech Pulse-Eight, P3: Gregoire Saucy ART Grand Prix.
Rodin Carlin has finalised its 2023 line-up with the announcement of Ido Cohen, the 21 year old will line-up alongside Hunter Yeany and Oliver Gray.
His move to Carlin will be a reunion after he raced for the team during his 2020 Euroformula Open campaign and completed his rookie FIA Formula 3 season with the team in 2021.
He claimed two podium finishes in Euroformula Open on the way to finishing seventh in the Standings, as well as finishing the ’21 F3 campaign 24th.
Cohen then spent his second FIA Formula 3 campaign at Jenzer Motorsport last year. The Israeli achieved a best finish of ninth which came in the Spielberg Feature Race.
I’m very happy to back with everyone at Rodin Carlin again. When I went back for my seat fit, it was like going back to family. The team have made some positive changes since we were last racing together and I’m excited to see everything come together again when we get on track next week in Bahrain.
Cohen on his seat.
We’re delighted to welcome Ido back to the team. We have a great working relationship together and a good understanding of what Ido needs to feel comfortable in the car. Combined with Ido’s experience in the championship, we look forward to making a positive start to the season in pre-season testing
PHM Racing by Charouz have locked in the second of their three drivers for the 2023 FIA Formula 3 season announcing that Robert Faria will be racing for the German outfit.
The Brazilian joins the grid for his fifth season of single-seater racing after making his debut back in 2019 where he finished 11th in the British F4 Championship.
The following year saw him dovetail a half-season return to British F4 where he scored two podiums in the opening two rounds, alongside a four-round stint in the British F3 Championship.
Sticking with GB3 Championship in 2021 and 2022, the 19 year old went on to take two consecutive fifth placed finishes in the Standings, achieving one win and a further 14 podiums.
Faria already has plenty of mileage in the F3 car under his belt, having completed 213 laps during post-season testing in Jerez last year.
I’m really delighted to join PHM Racing by Charouz in the FIA Formula 3 on their new project. It feels like a dream coming true. Even without knowing most of the circuits in the calendar I’ll do my best to deliver great results and to show the team why they have put their trust in me. I cannot wait to start racing in Bahrain.
Faira on his new seat.
Roberto ‘Beto’ Faria is one of these young passionate Brazilian talents with raw speed, ambition and demanding focus. His testing was promising, but now, we need to bring him into the working attitude, which is necessary to succeed in FIA F3. So the balance of speed and patience should affect good results through the season. In GB3 UK he was several times on the podium and finished 5th overall.
Jordan's Track Talk 