Laurens van Hoepen will race with Trident in 2026 the team has confirmed, stepping up to FIA Formula 2 full-time next season.
The Dutch driver has raced with the Italian team in both the Baku, Lusail and Yas Marina rounds, gaining valuable experience ahead of the 2026 season.
During the F3 campaign this season, van Hoepen achieved two podium finishes en route to P12 in the Drivers’ Standings.
I’m excited to compete in next season’s FIA Formula 2 Championship with TRIDENT Motorsport. The experience gained in the three appearances I made in this championship has been very useful in preparing for this step. Together with the technical staff, we made progress that will be fundamental for next year. We have an intense and challenging season ahead of us. van Hoepen on the news.
We are very pleased to announce that Laurens Van Hoepen will contest the 2026 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Trident Motorsport. He is a driver we’ve had the chance to get to know and appreciate in the final part of this season. After his positive debut in Baku, Van Hoepen immediately felt comfortable with the team. I am sure the Dutch driver has all the qualities required to do a great job with our technical staff and to compete in a highly competitive season. Giacomo Ricci, Trident Team Manager.
ART Grand Prix have confirmed that Laurens van Hoepen will be staying with the team for the 2025 FIA Formula 3 season, the Dutch driver returned for a second campaign.
The 19 year old enjoyed a strong rookie year with ART, achieving one pole position and three podiums on his way to finishing 13th in the Drivers’ standings.
Prior to his debut F3 campaign, van Hoepen raced in ART colours for two season in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, finishing 10th with two podiums in 2023.
He is now getting ready to race with the French team for a fourth consecutive season, and van Hoepen is excited for the challenges that lie ahead.
I’m really excited to continue with ART Grand Prix for the 2025 season. We’ve built a strong foundation together this year, and I feel ready to take on the new challenges that the next era of Formula 3 will bring. The team has been incredible in supporting my development, and I’m confident we can achieve great things together in 2025. Van Hoepen on the news.
We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Laurens Van Hoepen as we enter the exciting new era of Formula 3 in 2025. Laurens has shown great promise and dedication in his debut season with ART, and we believe that together we can achieve even greater success in the coming year. Sebastien Philippe, Team Principal on the news.
Mari Boya started his Budapest weekend on the front foot, winding up quickest for Campos Racing with a 1:34.236 in practice. The Spaniard led Hitech Pulse-Eight teammates Martinius Stenshorne and Luke Browning, who completed the top three.
After a quiet start to the session, drivers headed out onto the circuit with 15 minutes gone. Following tyre preparation laps, Alex Dunne set the first time to beat with a 1:34.986 which was swiftly bettered by Gabriele Mini.
His PREMA Racing teammate Dino Beganovic had been on a strong lap just ahead of him but a snap of oversteer at the penultimate corner cost the Swede time, crossing the line almost a second down in fifth.
Sebastian Montoya had been inside the top five earlier in the session but lost his first effort to track limits. The Campos Racing driver bounced back right away though to go second overall, 0.117s off Leon’s time.
Teammate Boya beat the pair of them shortly afterwards, going well clear of the rest on a 1:34.236 with just over 10 minutes left of the session.
Hitech Pulse-Eight teammates Martinius Stenshorne and Browning then moved themselves into the top positions, the former going second and the Briton fourth. On his final lap, the latter was able to find the time to lift himself up one more spot to take third at the chequered flag.
Qualifying-
ART Grand Prix’s Laurens van Hoepen earned his first pole position in FIA Formula 3, with a 1:33.995 coming in the nick of time. The Dutch driver finished the session on top and ahead of teammate Nikola Tsolov in P2, while title contender Leonardo Fornaroli took third for Trident.
There was a late red flag as another contender Luke Browning spun into the barriers on his final attempt, ending the session early.
With tyre preparation laps complete, AIX Racing’s Joshua Dufek set the initial pace with a 1:34.414 ahead of teammates Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Nikita Bedrin in a 1-2-3 for the team.
There was more vying for track position ahead of the second attempts but this time it was van Hoepen that took over at the top, setting a 1:34.316 until Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel Leon secured P1 with a 1:34.174.
Further back and with clear track, Fornaroli was next to go quickest but it was very closely run. The Italian driver went just 0.001s quicker than Leon to secure provisional pole.
Van Hoepen returned to the top as the first into the 1:33s ahead of teammate Tsolov in P2. Fornaroli put himself in third just as the red flags came out as title rival Browning found the barriers at Turn 11, bringing the session to a conclusion and those behind unable to improve.
The full top 10 are- Pole: Van Hoepen, P2: Tsolov, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Leon, P5: Ramos, P6: Dufek, P7: Mehuetounif, P8: Browning, P9: Tramnitz and P10: Mansell.
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.
Jordan's Track Talk 