After pre-season testing earlier this month, the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship is set to start in Bahrain later this week, and it promises to be one of the most unpredictable and exciting to date. With so much at stake, there is no reason not to follow the 2023 F3 season. Here is everything you need to know about it.

By Daniele Spadi

With 10 drivers from last year’s grid graduating to F2 – including the top seven in the drivers’ standings – there will be many opportunities for new drivers to make a name for themselves in 2023. F3 is still one of the most crowded grids in the world, with 30 drivers ready to battle for the championship.

Formula 3 is always full of talented drivers that come from all parts of the world. It is the series to which champions from both regional and national series – such as FRECA, FRMEC, and the various F4 championships – come to take the next step in their single-seater careers.

If anything, F3 has become an almost mandatory step in a driver’s journey towards becoming the next Formula One world champion.

Calendar and format

This year, F3 will see some changes to its schedule. The 2023 season features a total of ten race weekends – one more than last year – at some of the best tracks around the world.

In addition to classic circuits such as Imola, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, the F3 paddock will pay a visit to two new tracks: the recently modified Melbourne and the unforgiving streets of Monaco.

With F3 racing on these two tracks for the first time, it will be crucial for teams and drivers to maximise track time and learn quickly in order to gain a competitive edge come race day. Here is the full calendar for the 2023 season:

• Round 1: Sakhir (Bahrain), 03–05 March
• Round 2: Melbourne (Australia), 31 March–02 April
• Round 3: Imola (Italy), 19–21 May
• Round 4: Monte Carlo (Monaco), 25–28 May
• Round 5: Barcelona (Spain), 02–04 June
• Round 6: Spielberg (Austria), 30 June–02 July
• Round 7: Silverstone (Great Britain), 07–09 July
• Round 8: Budapest (Hungary), 21–23 July
• Round 9: Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), 28–30 July
• Round 10: Monza (Italy), 01–03 September

After experimenting with a three-race format in 2021, Formula 3 went back to its original schedule last season – a format that is set to stay for 2023. On Friday, teams and drivers will have their first taste of the track with 45 minutes of free practice and 30 minutes of qualifying later on.

Saturday sees the drivers competing in the sprint race, a shorter race with fewer points up for grabs that reverses the starting grid positions of the top 12 drivers in qualifying.

The main race of the weekend, the feature race, will take place on Sunday, with drivers lining up on the grid in the order that they qualified on Friday. The drivers will be rewarded with more points in this longer race.

The championship uses the same points system as Formula 1 for the feature race, with one additional point awarded to the driver with the fastest lap provided they also finish in the top 10.

The teams

Ten teams will fight for this year’s constructors’ championship, with three cars per team ready to race from Round 1. With Formula 3 famous for close racing and unpredictable results, it’s safe to say that every team is capable of finishing on the podium, or even winning a race, during the season.

Prema

Being one of the best teams in feeder series history, Prema is among the favourites. Last year’s teams’ champions will field one of the best line-ups in the category, though with Williams Driver Academy member Zak O’Sullivan being the only driver with F3 experience.

The Brit is set to race alongside Mercedes junior Paul Aron as well as last year’s FRECA champion, Ferrari Driver Academy member Dino Beganovic. The Italian outfit could mount a strong challenge for the drivers’ title with any of these three talents.

Trident

The 2021 teams’ champions head into the new season with a completely new line-up. 2022 Euroformula Open champion Oliver Goethe returns to F3 after racing in Hungary and Belgium last season with Campos.

Leonardo Fornaroli and Gabriel Bortoleto have both been promoted to F3 after impressive FRECA campaigns. FRECA rookie champion Fornaroli has stayed with Trident for a second season, whilst race winner Bortoleto joins the Italian outfit after competing with R-ace GP in 2022.

ART GP

Having won last year’s drivers’ championship with Victor Martins, ART GP are keen to keep the positive momentum going into 2023. Grégoire Saucy is staying for a second season in FIA F3 with the team and has looked very quick in pre-season testing, whilst Kaylen Frederick makes the switch from Hitech to join the French team for his third season in the category.

Last year’s Spanish F4 champion, Alpine Academy member Nikola Tsolov, will make his debut in FIA F3. This was a brave call for the Bulgarian, who decided against spending a season in FRECA to grab this opportunity with both hands instead.

MP Motorsport

MP is considered by some to be the dark horse of this year’s championship, with a stellar line-up that will surely have a lot to say during the season. After missing two rounds of the 2022 season because of Crohn’s disease – which ultimately hindered his overall performance – Jonny Edgar is set to drive for the Dutch team as he tries to finally establish himself as a championship contender.

The same can be said for Willians Driver Academy member Franco Colapinto, who impressed as a rookie in 2022 and could be a candidate to win the drivers’ title. The third MP car will be driven by Spain’s Mari Boya, who will make his FIA F3 debut after winning races in FRMEC earlier this year.

Hitech Pulse-Eight

Having developed strong talents such as Liam Lawson, Dennis Hauger, and Ayumu Iwasa, Hitech has a big reputation to uphold. Their 2023 line-up looks very promising so far, with Alpine Academy member Gabriele Minì and Red Bull Junior Team driver Sebastián Montoya both stepping up from FRECA.

After taking part in pre-season testing for Hitech, 2022 GB3 champion Luke Browning will also be making his FIA Formula 3 debut for the team. The Briton had the opportunity to test an Aston Martin F1 car last year after winning the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

Van Amersfoort Racing

After making their debut as a team in Formula 3 last season, VAR opted to keep Mexican driver Rafael Villagómez for a second year in the series. However, the team’s star driver is set to be Caio Collet; the Brazilian has shown great potential and is looking to put it all together in order to be a championship hopeful in 2023. Australia’s Tommy Smith will make his debut in the series after stepping up from GB3.

Rodin Carlin

Carlin had a rather disappointing season in 2022, with O’Sullivan the only driver able to perform at a very competitive level. As they hope to turn things around in 2023, the British team decided to promote Williams Driver Academy member Ollie Gray from British F4, in which he finished a brilliant second in the drivers’ standings.

After racing in selected rounds of FIA F3 in the past two seasons, Hunter Yeany will look to take part in his first full season in the series, with 2021 Carlin driver Ido Cohen returning to complete the line-up.

Campos

Campos dives into 2023 with a mix of experience and new talent in its line-up for its upcoming season. Pepe Martí keeps his seat at the Spanish team despite a difficult rookie season in 2022.

Australia’s Hugh Barter will make his debut in the series after finishing in second place in last season’s French and Spanish F4 championships. His fellow countryman Christian Mansell rounds out Campos’ line-up; the 18-year-old will compete full time in Formula 3 after racing for Charouz in Hungary and Belgium last year.

Jenzer Motorsport

Jenzer has a lot of work to do after a very difficult 2022 campaign; however, they have one of the most intriguing driver line-ups in the series. Taylor Barnard, the 2023 FRMEC runner-up, showed great speed in both the ADAC and Italian F4 championships last season and could be one of the dark horses of the championship.

The same goes for Nikita Bedrin. After some good performances in F4 machinery last season, he claimed two race wins in the last four FRMEC races at the start of 2023. Alex García completes Jenzer’s line-up, as he makes his debut in the category after finishing 7th in the Euroformula Open Championship in 2022.

PHM Racing by Charouz

The only new entry on this year’s grid is PHM, who enters the Formula 3 grid for the first time thanks to its partnership with Charouz. Their main story during pre-season was the signing of 22-year-old Sophia Floersch, who is set to make her comeback to FIA F3 after racing in the series back in 2020. Floersch will be joined by two F3 rookies, former GB3 driver Roberto Faria and Poland’s Piotr Wiśnicki.