After six months of battles, surprises, last-lap moves and first-time winners, the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship is ready for its final chapter. With the drivers’ championship on the line, the season’s last round in Monza promises to be one to remember. However, there will be much more than just a title fight to watch out for, as many drivers look to finish their season well enough to impress their current teams and be considered for a spot on the 2024 FIA Formula 2 grid. Here’s everything you need to know in preparation for the final race of one of the best Formula 3 seasons yet.

By Daniele Spadi

The 2023 season was destined to be special right from the beginning, as two venues were added to the calendar. The F3 paddock made its first ever trip to Australia and returned to the streets of Monaco for the first time since 2012. A total of 34 drivers have started in an F3 race this year, with a 35th ready for the final round. After seeing nine different winners (seven of whom are first-time F3 winners) and 16 different podium finishers, the championship is ready to come to an end at the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza, one of the most historic circuits in motorsport.

This year has lived up to the high expectations the driver line-ups created when they were first announced. This 2023 grid truly has it all: seasoned drivers looking to be title contenders, such as Zak O’Sullivan, Franco Colapinto and Grégoire Saucy; impressive rookies, such as Dino Beganovic, Gabriel Bortoleto and Gabriele Minì; and the unpredictable dark horses Pepe Martí, Paul Aron and Luke Browning. 

There will be plenty of action to look out for in Italy, as drivers will be fighting not only for podiums but also for their futures.

Who will win the title?

From the start of the season, it was clear that Bortoleto would be a favourite for the drivers’ championship. The Brazilian driver won the first two feature races of the year, taking pole position in Melbourne in the process. Following the first two rounds, ten consecutive finishes in the points enabled the Trident Racing driver to build a sizable lead over his championship rivals. In a testament to his consistency, he has stood on the podium five times this season, more than anyone else on the grid.

Along with his consistency, Bortoleto’s maturity has also been impressive. Despite being a rookie, he always seems to make the right decisions on track, picking his fights and controlling situations in a way that is rare for a driver so early in their career. “I think everything we’ve done [as rookies], we were all in the top five or top three in the first season almost,” he said. “We showed that we have the capacity to be very good straight away from the first season […] we’ve been preparing very well in the previous year – we did two years of FRECA [Formula Regional European Championship] – so it was a good thing for us to prepare for the FIA F3 season.”

A driver can earn a maximum of 39 points at the final round of the season, and thanks to his 38-point lead, Bortoleto could be crowned champion after qualifying if he gets pole position. Two drivers could possibly stand in his way: Prema Racing’s Paul Aron and Campos’ Pepe Martí.

Aron has had some amazing moments in 2023, such as his maiden podium in Australia, his first win in a wet-to-dry sprint race in Austria, and some superb consistency that saw him finishing in the points in 13 out of 16 races. However, Prema’s feature race strategy mistake in Belgium saw the Estonian driver go from a potential win to finishing in eighth, which only helped Bortoleto’s chances.

Pepe Martí – who was announced to be joining the Red Bull Junior Team moments before this article was published – is the only other driver who can overhaul Bortoleto. He has captured three wins and an additional podium finish, managing to pose a threat to Bortoleto at the season’s halfway point, but unfortunate races in both Hungary and Belgium took him out of realistic contention for the title.

Securing futures

Although the title fight is the main attraction of the weekend, many drivers will be trying to secure their futures and move up the junior single-seater ladder as well.

Behind Martí, who is eyeing a spot on the 2024 F2 grid, is Prema Racing’s Zak O’Sullivan, a four-time race winner this year who will be looking to turn things around after finishing outside of the points in five of the last six races. MP Motorsport’s Franco Colapinto, who is currently fifth in the standings, knows Monza quite well, as he won last year’s sprint race at the historic Italian circuit. The Argentinian driver has been consistent throughout the season, and a good showing at the final round of the championship could be the icing on the cake as he tries to make the jump to F2 for next year.

Other drivers are also trying move up, and even if their odds seem to be lower, their futures could still be decided by the outcome of the season’s closing round. This is the case of rookies Dino Beganovic and Gabriele Minì, who have proven to be very quick but quite inconsistent this year.

ART’s Grégoire Saucy, who is in his second F3 season, will also be looking to impress. Despite a strong start to the season, the 2021 FRECA champion currently sits 11th in the standings, as he has scored only five points in the last ten races. A change of pace is needed if he wants to keep his chances of progressing up the feeder series ladder in the near future.

Last chance to prove talent

The F3 grid changes drastically from season to season, a fact drivers are well-aware of. Monza is the last chance for those looking for a 2024 seat in the series to make an impression. Christian Mansell is one such example. He has improved massively since the start of the season, picking up two podium finishes in mixed conditions in the second half of 2023. A better understanding of the car was what he needed to better showcase his skills, and a great performance in the season’s final round could secure him a spot on the grid for next year. 

The same can be said for both Nikita Bedrin and Nikola Tsolov. The former is keen on proving that the two podiums he scored in the last four races are not a coincidence, whereas the latter needs to make a good impression in order to fight for a spot on next year’s grid after an underwhelming season that sees him down in 23rd in the drivers’ standings.

This round may prove crucial for the drivers who have just arrived to the championship. Francesco Simonazzi and Michael Shin have recently subbed in at Rodin Carlin and PHM Racing by Charouz respectively, and the track time in Monza will be a perfect chance for them to further understand the car and convince their teams to pick them up for a full season in 2024. 

Monza could also be the last time some on the grid ever race in F3 machinery. This is the case of Caio Collet and Jonny Edgar, both of whom are currently in their third year of the series and have spoken about possibly not returning for a fourth season. 

Lastly, the final round of the season will see the debut of Joshua Dufek, the Swiss driver currently racing for Van Amersfoort Racing in FRECA. He will replace Hugh Barter at Campos Racing, a chance for him to race in F3 for the first time and impress the team ahead of a possible call up to the grid for next year. 

Editor’s note, 1 September 2023, 15:00 CEST: A previous version of this article indicated that Paul Aron was the only driver besides Gabriel Bortoleto still eligible for the F3 drivers’ championship. In fact, Pepe Martí was, at publication time, also still eligible to beat Bortoleto if he scored a maximum of 39 points and Bortoleto scored zero at Monza.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency